Wooing Rachel Berry
by GE0309
Summary: Santana is in love with her best friend but is to afraid to tell her...mainly because she is dating Finn Hudson. But will prom provide her with her chance to get her girl? Rated M for language to be safe. Probably for other stuff later on.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Pretty much canon until Nationals season 2 and then I go off into my own little world! But it is minor spoilers for the prom episode…but if you have at least seen the commercials for the episode than this won't spoil the episode for you.

This basically takes place towards the end of their senior year with a few flashbacks thrown in to help explain things. And it starts a month before prom but they have announced the theme early instead of two days before prom.

It's a Pezberry endgame but there is Finchel (as much as it pains me to write) and some Brittana but it's not very descriptive about those relationships. It's just known that Finchel is a couple.

As of right now the story is only in Santana's POV because I understand her character better (or at least I hope I do!) I may go into Rachel's POV but only if it's really necessary.

No Finn and Rachel engagement (because really that is a god awful idea) and Brittana happens sooner in my story than on the show and with much less drama about it.

And last but not least: I do not own Glee or anything that was created by Ryan Murphy! Or the song 'Somewhere' mentioned in this chapter.

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**Chapter One**

**Santana POV **

Brittany had just announced the Prom theme: Dinosaurs.

I guess I could deal with that. At least it's not a specific color theme because lets face it; there are just some colors that do not suit Santana Lopez. I know what you're thinking, and yes I am hot enough and can totally rock anything with this sexy body. I'd just rather not have to deal with trying to pull something off.

And dinosaurs as a theme was totally not the worst idea Brittany could have come up with. A few people in the choir room don't look as excited as others do, but with a quick threatening glare by yours truly, that is quickly fixed. Hey, she might not be my girlfriend anymore, but I still love the girl (No, I'm not in love with her anymore either) and I hate it when someone upsets her.

Okay, lets back up a little because I know you're probably confused. Yes, I said that Brittany and I are no longer together. It was weird how it happened and it was even more surprising because I was the one to initiate the breakup. It was all thanks to Rachel (yes, I called her Rachel and I will explain how that happened in a minute) and her ability to finally open my eyes and make me believe that I was more than this shitty town.

See, I thought Britts was the only good thing that I had going for me. And I probably mistook that feeling for love. Don't get me wrong, I totally love Britt, girl is my best friend and I would do absolutely anything for her. I just realized, after a very long talk with Rachel that I won't bother getting into, that we were better at being best friends than girlfriends. And despite all those people who think Britt is stupid, the chick is incredibly smart when it comes to personal interactions. The night that I sat her down to have this talk with her, I didn't even get a word out past 'Britt' before she said she agrees with me and that I would always be her bestie. We hugged it out, made popcorn, and cuddled while watching Finding Nemo (Yes, I let Brittany pick the movie. Are you really that surprised?)

But here is where I can bring the story back to Rachel. Because near the end of the movie, Brittany turned to me and with a very serious face said something that will forever change my life.

This is what she said:

"San, I know that we were girlfriends and that in your own way you really did love me and would never cheat on me. But I catch you looking at her sometimes, like when she sang 'Somewhere' for her audition for West Side Story. I want you to know that it's okay if you want to be with her. I think you and Rachel would be cute together."

Okay, lets pause here and back up a little further so I can explain some things so that this all makes a little bit more sense.

Rachel Berry and I are now friends. Really good friends in fact. It all started after Nationals of our junior year. Well, at least after I went trough the whole 'Imma go all Lima Heights adjacent on your ass for costing us Nationals' phase.

It was maybe a week before school was going to be let out for the summer when I was completely minding my own business and walking down the hallway, skipping class of course. Hey, I had a 3.8 GPA, I was allowed to skip class when I wanted to, okay.

Anyway…where was I…oh yeah, I was completely minding my own business when I walked past the _open door_ of the choir room (Totally not opened, but I opened it when I realized what was going down in there. I'm sneaky like that!) and overhead an argument happening between the hobbit and the overgrown man-child.

Things were really heating up, so naturally I stopped to eavesdrop. (Hello! I am Santana Lopez! Did you really expect anything less?)

So the argument was apparently about Rachel not wanting to give up her precious v-card to Finn, despite the fact that Finn did the 'incredibly romantic thing' when he kissed Rachel on stage at Nationals. But what Rachel said and did next really surprised me.

I totally expected her to go all puppy dogs eyes and swoon over the ogre's 'incredibly romantic thing' and agree that the kiss on stage was entirely romantic and made all her little romantic fantasies come true. But no, she totally got a lot angrier than I had ever seen her and started yelling at him for completely ruining their chances to win Nationals by kissing her. And apparently it wasn't the first time they had this conversation.

Of course, Finnept's response? "But you kissed me back!" And it was totally worse because it was in that whiney child's voice that the man-child has that literally makes me want to cut his dick off and shove it down his throat to make him shut up.

But I digress, because here is where it totally got interesting. Miss 'I hate violence' and 'violence is never the answer' started hitting him in the arm repeatedly and yelling,

"I already told you. I had no choice but to kiss you back! It would have made things worse if I had pushed you away. Instead of being blamed for getting 12th place I would have been blamed for getting 20th place!"

And with one last punch, Rachel preceded to execute a patented Rachel Berry Diva Stormout.

That's when I started to feel…guilty. Because I, along with every other glee member, completely blamed Rachel for our 12th place finish because of that kiss because we all assumed she initiated it. But we really should have been blaming Frankenteen.

And when I thought about it some more, I realized that Rachel just took it. She took all the blame, she took every mean name and insult sent her way by the Glee Club, with her head held high and did not try to defend herself at all. Just like she took every slushy facial, every mean and derogatory name thrown at her by the rest of the school since she started high school. She never fought back.

And some (okay, a lot) of that was my fault. More so Quinn's because lets face it, that girl was a way bigger bitch than me, but it was still mostly my fault too.

And it was in that moment, standing in the hallway of William McKinley High School, that I felt like the shittiest person in the world! (Hey, I actually do have feelings, you know!)

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**AN 2:** This is my first time writing so let me know what you think. I have a couple of more chapters written so let me know if I should keep posting.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: This chapter is basically backstory to make future events make more sense...there is probably 1 or 2 more chapters like this until the actually story picks up...so bear with me please!**

**And thanks for the alerts/favorites and reviews...I hope this doesn't disappoint!**

**And I don't own glee or anything created by Ryan Murphy.**

**p.s. the italics is the flashback**

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**Chapter 2**

The realization in the hallway of William McKinley High School led me to standing in front of Rachel Berry's door two days after summer vacation started.

I woke up early (hard work in itself) and drove over to Rachel's house. I have to admit, I was deathly afraid of Rachel's dad when he opened the door. He may be short, but Hiram Berry is an intimidating man when he needs to be (I would later learn that he really is just a teddy bear and along with the other Mr. Berry, are the nicest guys in the world.)

When I asked him if Rachel was home, he asked who I was. Which was the question I was dreading the most, because lets face it, I put his daughter through hell for no reason. So with as much confidence as I could portray, I answered, (I'm gonna take you on a flashback here…much easier then trying to explain everything that happened that day…because _a lot_ happened that day that would forever change my relationship with Berry.)

"_Santana Lopez, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Berry."_

_His façade dropped and he grabbed my out stretched hand and pulled me into a hug and said,_

"_Oh, enough of that Mr. Berry and sir stuff. Any friend of Rachel's can call me Hiram."_

_He pulled me into the house, yelling for Rachel to come downstairs, and introduced me to the other Mr. Berry who was sitting in the living room._

"_And that lazy bum is my husband, Leroy. Leroy, this is Rachel's friend Santana from glee. You remember her right? She sang that amazing rendition of 'Valarie' at Sectionals this year."_

_When I hear Rachel's voice relatively close to the living room asking her dad what he wants, I freeze._

_When she sees me, in a one armed hug with Leroy, she looks like a deer caught in headlights. And for the first time since I have known her, Rachel Berry actually stuttered for a second, before putting her show face on. But she has a look in her eyes that is begging me to play along with whatever she is about to say. _

"_San, what are you doing here? I thought we were going to hang out at your house later tonight?"_

_My heart literally drops and I feel sick to my stomach at what she just said._

_I realize in that moment that Rachel's dads know absolutely nothing about her high school experience and the part I played in it. Well, at least not the truth about it. So I play along and tell her I was bored and thought I'd stop by earlier so we could hang out. And that since my parents were both working (which was true, since my papi is a doctor and my mami is an accountant), I felt like getting out of the quiet house._

_This, of course, made the Berry men very happy and they jumped up talking about lunch and before I knew what was happening, Rachel is dragging me up the stairs and into her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind us. I am too ashamed of myself to even look her in the eye but if I did I would have seen the daggers she is undoubtedly shooting at me, I'm sure. _

_I have this ire feeling that the conversation we are about to have is going to make me feel a lot worse than I already do. Well, here we go._

"_What the hell Santana! What in Barbra's name are you doing here?" Rachel is really loud and I'm afraid she is going to attract the attention of the Berry men downstairs._

"_You should probably lower your voice so your dads don't hear us."_

"_My room is soundproofed. My dads thought that would be cheaper than spending money on lawyers to fight the law suits my neighbors kept filling because I was always singing too loud."_

_I couldn't help but chuckle at this, it was just so Rachel Berry. And it was kind of adorable. She, however, took it the wrong way._

"_If you are just going to stand there and laugh at me then you can go. I'll make up an excuse for you with my fathers. Because I take enough of your crap at school Santana, but I refuse to take your crap in my own house!"_

"_Whoa, Rachel calm down. I wasn't making fun of you. I was laughing because I think it's adorable that your dads had to soundproof your room."_

_Okay, it has been like a full minute and she hasn't said anything. She's just staring at me._

"_Rachel, are you okay? You haven't talked in like a minute and that's unusual for you."_

"_You called me Rachel."_

"_Well, that is your name, isn't it?"_

"_Yes, I just was not aware that you even knew what my first name was. I always assumed you thought it was manhands, or treasure trail, or Rupaul."_

_I wince after she finishes that last line. More so because of how eerily calm she says it. I let out a sigh and let my shoulders drop. Here it goes. My attempt at apologizing to the girl whose life I made a living hell. I look her straight in the eyes and say,_

"_Listen, Rachel, that's why I came here today. I wanted to apologize to you. Sincerely apologize to you for absolutely everything I have ever said or done to you. I don't expect you to forgive me right now. Hell, I really don't expect you to forgive me at all, because I don't deserve it. But I would really like the chance to make it all up to you. I would really like the chance to become your friend. I – "_

_I stop there. I would have kept going but Rachel put her hand up, signaling for me to stop talking._

"_I forgive you Santana. And I appreciate you coming to my home to apologize to me in person. And I can see that you really mean what you just said. So yes, I would like to pursue a friendship with you."_

_I'm pretty sure the look of total astonishment is on my face right now. I thought a lot about how this would go down and of all the scenarios in my head, this was definitely not one of them. I honestly expected her to laugh in my face and tell me to get the hell out of her house. I did not expect for her to accept my apology and want to be friends with me, at least not this quickly. But she is Rachel Berry. The girl with the biggest heart ever. I guess I should have seen it coming._

"_Can I ask you a question though? And please be honest with me Santana."_

"_Of course, Rach, you can ask me anything."_

"_Why?"_

_Now I could totally play it off and come up with some lame ass excuse that she would probably buy, but for some reason, the look in her eyes when she whispered that one word made me want to tell her the truth. So I will. I'll open up completely to the one girl who has every right to take what I'm about to tell her and completely destroy my life for revenge._

"_It might take me a while because this is hard for me to talk about, with anyone, including Brittany, but just let me get it all out before you say anything."_

_When she nods her head I continue._

"_I'm jealous of you. I always have been. I know it's no excuse but it's the honest truth. You walk around that school, taking all the crap people throw at you, with your head held high. You are unapologetic about the fact that you know what you want and you're not afraid to do whatever it takes to get it. You're proud of who you are. You're proud of where you come from; despite all of the ignorant shitheads in this town that tell you that your family is wrong. I'm jealous of your bravery. I'm jealous of your strength to be proud of who you are and your ability to embrace it wholeheartedly. I'm jealous of your courage to be proud that you have two dads."_

_I take a deep breath to prepare myself to tell her the one thing about me that I have never told anyone else._

"_I…I'm…I'm gay Rach. And I've known for a while now. I tried desperately to deny it at first by sleeping with Puck, but I had to stop eventually. I finally admitted it to myself when I talked to Ms. Holliday, but I still wasn't ready for anyone else to know. Hell, I'm still not. But you deserve to know why I acted like a total bitch._

"_I'm terrified that people will find out. I'm terrified of what people will say and what they will do. I saw how Kurt was treated. He had to transfer schools for fucks sake. I'm not strong enough to deal with that. I'm not strong enough, or brave enough, or courageous enough to put up with the names or the ridicule. I'm not as strong as you."_

_I tried really hard not to cry through that. I really did. But for some reason I had the feeling that it is okay to be vulnerable in front of this girl. So I don't bother wiping them. I just take another deep breathe and continue._

"_I was so terrified of people seeing my biggest flaw that I attacked everyone else so the attention was on them instead of me. And because I was so jealous of you, everything about you, I attacked you worse then everybody else. It's no excuse, but I figured if people were so busy torturing you then they wouldn't try to figure out what was wrong with me. It's no excuse, but I am so, so, incredibly, deeply sorry Rachel."_

_And this is where I really lose it. The tears keep coming and I can't stop them if I want to. I just collapse on the floor, a sobbing mess. I feel Rachel's arms wrap around me and pull me into her chest. She is rubbing my back and pulling her fingers through my hair, whispering things into my ear to try to get me to calm down. _

_When I finally collect myself and stop crying, I pull back from Rachel and attempt to hide my embarrassment. But she wasn't having it._

_She pulls my face towards her and waits for me to look her in the eyes before she starts talking._

"_Your secret is safe with me. But I want you to know, that when you are ready for people to know, I will be with you every step of the way. You are not alone in this anymore Santana. I'll always be here for you from now on, for as long as you'll let me. But you need to know that you are so much stronger and braver than you give yourself credit for. Coming here and talking to me is proof of that."_

_I have to smile at that. Who would of thought, me, Santana Lopez, biggest bitch at McKinley, would be happy knowing that Rachel Berry will have my back when I'm ready to come out. What she said next surprises me though._

"_And when your ready to tell Brittany that you want to be with her, I will help you to get your girl in any way that I can."_

_With that she winks and helps me off of the floor. This girl is full of surprises. I guess I wasn't as subtle with my love for Brittany as I thought._

_When I finally snap out of my thoughts when Hiram knocks on the door to tell us lunch was here, I realize that I still had a question for Rachel._

"_Rach, ummm….why haven't you told your dads the truth about me and how I treated you?"_

_She lets out a sigh and tells me, "Because I didn't want them to be disappointed about the fact that I have no friends. They were social butterflies in high school and they always talk about what a wonderful experience it was for them. I didn't have the heart to tell them the truth. So I lie about the glee club actually being my friends and I make up stories about outings and parties. All of which I tell them aren't held here. If I'm supposed to be 'hanging out' with my friends and I know my dads will be home I just drive around, and depending on the weather I go to the park or the music store or go see a movie. It's like second nature for me at this point. It was hard to get away with it at first because I couldn't drive but once I got my license it became a lot easier."_

_It takes everything I have to not start crying again during her explanation. It feels like she just stabbed my heart with a knife and twisted it. She talks about it in that same calm voice as before; like she has accepted that that is how her life is and there is nothing she can do to change it. So I do the only thing I can think of to do in this moment to make it better._

_I grab her in the tightest hug that I have ever given anybody, a hug that could rival Brittany's signature bear hugs. I wait for her arms to encircle my waist and squeeze me back just as tight before I say anything._

"_Never again, Rachel. Never again." When I feel her nod against my shoulder where her head is resting, I think she understands what I was trying to get across without using the words. That I am here now; that I am her friend now, and that she will never feel that alone ever again._

_End Flashback_

We went down and had lunch with her dads. It was a great experience and I had so much fun with them. My parents are workaholics so it was nice to experience that family time.

We ended up hanging out a lot that summer. Well, when she wasn't with Finnept at least. Why she was still with him I'll never know. I told her multiple times that she deserved better but she always said that she loved him and stayed with him.

It took a while for the rest of the glee club, especially Frankenteen, to get used to how close we became. I had to snap at them a couple of times when they would upset her by saying something mean to her or about her. I also set them straight about what actually happened at Nationals and whose fault it really was. Everyone apologized to Rachel (and I totally did not make them do that!)

Brittany was extremely happy though. She always did like Rachel but Quinn and I would never let her talk to Rachel. They have become good friends this summer too. The three of us hung out a lot together during the summer and once Quinn got her head out of her ass (again, I totally had nothing to do with that either) and apologized to Rachel she joined us.

When school started, I made it perfectly clear that Rachel Berry was off limits. When I saw the look of absolute surprise on her face when I made the announcement in the hallway on our first day, I realized that she didn't expect us to openly be friends at school. We never talked about how our friendship would be within the walls of McKinley because I didn't think we had to. I was waiting for her to bring it up, but she never did so I just assumed she knew that how we were out of school wouldn't change when we walked through those doors. So I just wrapped her in a big bear hug, which had become a signature for us whenever we saw each other, and whispered in her ear, "Never again."

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AN 2: Let me know what you think...thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks so much for the alerts and favorites and reviews...I really appreciate it.**

**This is the last chapter before we get to the actual storyline of the story. **

**Hopefully the way I wrote this chapter is not confusing...but if you need some things cleared up just let me know.**

**And I know that the admissions process for colleges does not happen as fast as I portrayed it as but it needed to be like that for my story so just go with it.**

**And I don't own Glee or anything created by Ryan Murphy or the song mentioned in this chapter.**

**Flashbacks are in italics.**

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**Chapter 3**

As the first month of school ended, I told Rachel I was ready, and she kept her promise. She helped me pick out a great song and held my hand through the entire performance at our next glee practice as I professed my love for Brittany.

Brittany and I were girlfriends by the end of that glee practice and the rest of the school knew by the next day. Despite a few little instances (and those people no longer being able to eat solid foods) everyone pretty much left us alone.

Rachel kept her promise by sticking with me every step of the way. When it came time for me to tell my parents (who were surprisingly cool with me being a lesbian) I didn't even have to ask her to come with me. She just got into my car after school and held my hand the entire time.

I really should have seen that something was off with Rachel coming with me to come out to my parents instead of my girlfriend. But I guess I was just so nervous that all I could think about was how safe I felt with Rachel there with me. When having Rachel there felt like second nature to me instead of Brittany being there, I couldn't tell you. But nevertheless, Rachel was that person for me and I didn't think anything of it at the time.

So I think we pretty much covered all of the important parts up to Brittany's little outburst on my couch. And just in case you forget, this is where we left off: (Cue our next flashback)

"_San, I know that we were girlfriends and that in your own way you really did love me and would never cheat on me. But I caught the way you would look at her sometimes, like when she sang 'Somewhere' for her audition for West Side Story. I want you to know that it's okay if you want to be with her. I think you and Rachel would be cute together."_

"_Brit-Brit, what are you talking about? Rachel and I are just friends."_

"_Come on San, I know you! I see you look at her sometimes and it's how you used to look at me. You really like her."_

"_Brit…I don't…" I can't even finish that sentence because every interaction I had with Rachel since we became friends that summer goes flashing before my eyes as if I was there watching it all take place. All those times we cuddled on the couch while watching a movie. Seeing the smile on her face whenever I let her put in a musical, and the feeling of how my stomach did a flip-flop every time I saw that smile._

_Every time she went to hang out with Finn instead of hanging out with me, I always thought that feeling of my chest tightening up was because I thought she deserved better. But it was because I was jealous of Finn._

_I think about how every time I needed someone, Rachel was who I went to…she was my rock through all the good times and especially the bad. She held my hand through it all and she was my safety net. And she still is all those things for me. And her smile still makes my stomach do that little flip when I see it, especially if I'm the one to put it there. _

_It hit me like a ton of bricks._

"_I like Rachel Berry." Holy Shit!_

"_Yay! I'm so excited. Go get your girl, San!"_

_Oh sweet, sweet, innocent Brittany._

"_Brit, I can't."_

"_Why not San?" I hate that pout. Always have, always will._

"_Brit, we just broke up, even I know that's incredibly insensitive to you." I tell her while grabbing her hands._

"_Oh San, I'm okay. I know what we had was real and special but we weren't meant to be. We tried it and it didn't work. As long as you're still my best friend I'll be okay. I just want you to be happy San; that is all I've ever wanted."_

_I grab Brit and hug her tightly. This girl is literally amazing. I don't know what I would do without this girl in my life. I'm incredibly lucky that she took the break up as well as she did. When I pull back, I voice the one problem stopping me from going after Rachel (well at least the biggest problem.)_

"_Finn."_

"_What? What about Finn? Oh no, do you like him too, San? Because that would be bad. Wait, I thought you were lebanese?"_

"_What? No Brit! UGH! I literally just threw up in my mouth a little bit at that thought. I'm talking about the fact that Rachel is with Finn."_

"_Oh, well that's easy silly. Rachie is totally bi-curious like me, and I know she likes you too so all you have to do is tell her how you feel and she'll totally dump Finn."_

"_Wait…what are talking about Brit? Rachel is like head over heels in love with the jolly green giant. There is no way I'm going to tell Rachel that I like her. I can't jeopardize that friendship. It's too important to me."_

_Plus, I really don't think I could take the rejection if Rachel were to pick him over me. But I don't voice that fear._

"_San, she wouldn't do that to you. There is no way that Rachie would ever stop being friends with you. Plus, you guys would be totally hot together getting your sweet lady kisses on, but not as hot as us."_

_I really can't help but laugh at that. Brit's ability to go from totally serious to hysterically funny is one in a million. But it doesn't change my mind. I can't do it._

"_I can't do it Brit, I just can't."_

_And with that the conversation drops and Brittany left. It was never brought up again, although I know Brittany desperately wanted to._

End Flashback.

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So that brings us back to where my little story started.

Brittany and I are no longer girlfriends but we are back to being besties like before and I now consider Rachel Berry my best friend. (Brittany and I are besties, Rachel and I are best friends. Yes there is a difference.)

Everyone is in the choir room, excited about prom. And even though I have a smile on my face and am talking about it like I'm just as excited as everyone else, it's all fake. Because I desperately want to be going to this prom with Rachel, but she is going with Frankenteen. Ugh, just seeing them all smiles talking prom is making me sick.

Over the last two months since Brittany and I had our little talk, the floodgates opened. If I thought I liked Rachel that day, now that it is out in the open, my feelings have only intensified. And by out in the open, I only mean that I know…and well Brittany. But no one else.

They have intensified so much, that I can now say with 100 percent certainty that I am in love with Rachel Berry. And there was one event that really solidified that for me. It happened about a week ago….

This is the last flashback for my story, I promise (well at least I think it is).

_I had just gotten home from school, earlier than usual because there was no glee practice or cheerios practice today, shocking I know. Something about Sue having a meeting with the leader of North Korea or some other country. I wasn't really listening to her when she told me because Rachel happened to be walking by in that moment and her legs are really distracting. But I digress._

_I grab the mail since I am the first person to come home today and go inside the house. I don't bother to look at it and just throw it on the coffee table in the living room on my way up to my room. It isn't until I was being called downstairs by my mami a couple of hours later that I realize that I probably should have at least screened the mail so I knew about any punishments that may have been coming._

_Hey, I might have turned a new leaf when it came to Rachel but that didn't mean all the other losers were off limits to my bitchiness!_

_I'm brought out of my thoughts on what I could have possibly done this time to warrant a letter home to my parents when I'm pulled into a bear hug in the living room. My parents keep yelling and saying 'congratulations' and how proud they are of me. Wow…I totally was off base a minute ago. I of course have absolutely no idea what is going on so I just smile along until they finish so then I can find out what the hell is going on. But that's when I'm turned around and I see the opened white envelop sitting on the coffee table._

_I pull out of my parents' tight embrace and walk over to the coffee table and pick up the letter because I thought I saw the university symbol on it but there is no way…holy shit! It's a letter from Columbia University. And not just any letter, but an acceptance letter telling me I not only got into the school but I was also accepted into the pre-law program._

_This makes no sense. I didn't apply. I mean sure, it's my dream school but I never thought I could do it so I didn't bother applying. Wait…no way…she couldn't have…_

_Rachel…_

Okay pause…because in order to explain why Rachel comes to mind, I have to take you back with another flashback within this flashback. I know, it's totally confusing, but it's the only way to set up what happens after I realize…well I'll just let you realize it with me.

_We are sitting on Rachel's bed, just like any other time when I was over at her house. It was the day after Britts and I ended our relationship and somehow we get onto the topic of our future plans. I think she is trying to cheer me up._

"_What are your plans, San? Are you planning on staying close to home or do you want to go away?"_

_I just shrug. Truth is, I want to desperately get the hell out of Lima. More specifically, I want to go to New York. (And it totally has nothing to do with a certain little diva that just so happens to be going to college in New York.) I've had this dream for a while now. I want to go to Columbia University as a pre-law major and then hopefully go onto law school. I could totally see myself as a badass attorney in the courtroom making all the other lawyers shit themselves when they realize they have to go up against me. I must have a smile on my face thinking about it because Rachel saw something._

"_Wait…why are smiling? Where did you just go?"_

"_It was nothing Tiny. Don't worry about it."_

"_No…something brought that smile to your face. Tell me San, please!"_

_Ugh…that pout! Worse than Brit's, I swear!_

"_Okay fine. I was thinking about Columbia."_

"_Like the country?"_

_I do a double take at that…maybe she learned more than Brit's pout; they have been spending a lot of time together._

"_No, not the country, you dork! The university. In New York."_

"_Ohhh…well what about it?"_

"_I've always had this crazy dream about going there. Maybe study pre-law and then going onto law school."_

"_Oh my gosh, San! That would be awesome! How far away is it from NYADA? Oh my gosh, we're going to New York together!"_

_Seeing how excited she is about this really makes me want to go. It would be awesome to go to New York with my best friend (who I secretly have a crush on). But there is no point in applying. No way I would get in._

"_Whoa, Tiny, calm down. I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm not going."_

"_Wait…what? What do you mean you're not going?"_

"_There's no point in applying. I'll never get in. I'm not good enough."_

"_San, what are you talking about? You're like ranked third in our class. You're on a nationally ranked cheerleading team. You're on a show choir that is going to win Nationals. What do you mean you're not good enough? They would be lucky to have you."_

_Maybe Brit is right…maybe she does have feelings for me. Because there is something different about the way she is looking at me right now. I wish I had the balls to say something._

"_Okay, Tiny. I'll do it."_

"_Yay! This is going to be so much fun. Us, in New York, together. Oh my gosh, I have to start apartment hunting."_

_And just like that she jumps from the bed and bounces over to her computer desk, looking utterly adorable, mind you. I don't have the heart to tell her that I'm not going to apply. The chance for rejection is too high; I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't get in. It's just like why I can't tell Rachel about my feelings. I'm so afraid of rejection. I'll just tell her that I didn't get in when she asks about it._

That's the end of the second flashback…now back to my original flashback.

_I shake my head to clear it of the memory. I can't believe she remembered._

"_Rachel."_

"_What was that mija?"_

"_Rachel…I have to go see Rachel."_

_I grab the acceptance letter and run out of the house to my car. I'm pretty sure I broke multiple traffic laws trying to get to her house as fast as possible. _

_I don't even bother knocking when I get there; I just barrel through the door like a bat out of hell yelling for Rachel. I'm pretty sure I look like a hot mess right now and the Berry men are looking at me with a lot of concern in their eyes._

_I finally see her running down the stairs asking me what's wrong but I don't answer. I just run to her and grab her and hold her as tight as I can and I start sobbing into her neck where I have my face tucked into. I'm babbling, desperately trying to tell her why I showed up at her house acting like a crazy person._

_It takes me a while but I finally start to calm down and I hear her whispering things into my ear, trying to calm me down. Just like that first day of our friendship when I cried like a baby in her arms for the first time. _

_God, how was I so blind to how I felt about her?_

_When I pull back, I remember the letter that is crushed up in my grip and I step back out of her embrace and hand it to her to read._

"_You got in?" she whispers. "Oh my gosh, San! You got in! You're going to New York with me!" Now she is yelling and jumping up and down. She is really adorable with that big goofy smile on her face that makes my stomach flip._

"_Yeah, I got in. But I didn't apply."_

_At hearing this, her smile drops. I can see that her dads have confused looks on their faces but I can't bring myself to care right now._

"_San…I – "_

"_Why did you do it Tiny?" _

_At the nickname I see the corner of her mouth lift up in a small smile. I hope she knows that I'm not mad. I'm fucking ecstatic. But I really need to know why she did it. And how the hell she did it._

"_Just let me explain it all before you talk, please?"_

_I just nod my head so she knows to keep going._

"_When you told me you were going to do it that day in my room, I acted like I believed you. But I knew deep down that you weren't going to do it. So I did it for you. It wasn't easy. Getting a hold of your transcripts was the trickiest part but I am Rachel Berry and as some wise person once said, when I know what I want I go after it. And I usually get it."_

_I just chuckle at this because that right there, what she just said, is part of the definition you would find if you looked up Rachel Barbra Berry in the dictionary. _

"_For some reason, you don't believe in yourself. I could hear it in your voice that day when we were talking about it. I needed to prove to you that you are good enough. This was the only way I thought I could do that because there wasn't a doubt in my mind that you would get in. You just needed someone to believe in you. I wanted to be that someone."_

_The only thing stopping me from kissing her in that moment is Hiram begging to know what was going on._

"_I got into Columbia."_

"_Wait…why did you apply to go to a country?"_

_Oh Leroy! At least I know where Rachel gets it. There goes my 'spending too much time with Brittany' theory._

"_Daddy! Not the country, the university. The Ivy League university. In New York."_

_Both of the Berry men grab me and squish me between them in a bear hug, yelling their congratulations. They look at me with so much pride. These two men, who quickly became 2__nd__ and 3__rd__ fathers to me, are looking at me with so much pride that I cant help but let more tears fall. But the floodgates open again when I look at Rachel and the pride that I see reflected in her eyes. We wrap our arms around each other in one of our signature bear hugs, and right here, in this moment, in the living room of casa de Berry, in Rachel's arms…I realize that I fell in love with Rachel Berry._

End original flashback.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thanks for all the alerts, favorites and reviews...you guys are awesome!**

**This one picks up in real time now and goes from there. It's a little shorter then the previous chapters but it reached a natural stopping point. **

**I don't own Glee or anything created by Ryan Murphy or the song Santana sings in this chapter.**

**All mistakes are mine.**

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**Chapter 4**

So this is where I stand right now in my life. I'm a Columbia-bound high school student (thanks to Rachel Berry) who is madly in love with her best friend. The same best friend who I will be sharing an apartment with when we move to New York together. (Of course Rachel found us an apartment a day after I got my acceptance letter.) Why do I feel like the world is out to get me?

I just walked out of my last class before my free period, so I head towards the bathroom to touch up my makeup like I do everyday. Hey, it's hard work looking this hot!

When I walk into the bathroom, I'm surprised to see the rest of the glee girls in there as well. But once I start to actually listen to their conversation, I really wish I didn't pick that particular bathroom that day. Because all they are talking about is prom. It's been like two days since Britts told us the theme and it's all anyone can talk about. It's really annoying.

But one statement totally catches my attention.

"I'm not going."

"What?"

"Girl, what?"

"Rachie, you have to go!"

Wait…she was just talking about prom with Finn in the choir room the other day, all smiles and looking all lovey dovey. Ugh, I really hate that overgrown man-child. Did they break up? No, she would have told me.

Okay time to use your words Santana.

"Tiny, what are you talking about?"

"I haven't been asked and prom is only a month away. If I'm not asked soon I won't have time to go dress shopping. So, I just decided not to go."

"Wait…what do you mean no one asked you? You're still dating the ogre right?"

"Yes, Santana, _Finn_ and I are still romantically involved. That doesn't mean that it is automatic that Finn and I are going to prom together. I'm a romantic, San. I want flowers and a big romantic gesture. I deserve that."

"Rach, the theme for prom was just announced two days ago, give him some time. I'm sure he is planning something."

"He should have already had something planned Quinn. I've only been talking about prom for the last two months. He knows how important it is for me. Look, I know I'm high maintenance, Finn certainly points that out enough, but I thought that he would at least do this one thing for me. But I guess I was wrong."

And with that she leaves the bathroom and heads to her next class.

"He is such a fucking idiot. A total fucking idiot. He has the most amazing girl in the world as his girlfriend and he doesn't even know that she wants to be asked to prom? God, what a fucking idiot. And seriously, he tells her she is high maintenance. What a dickhead. Worst boyfriend ever. When I get my hands on him I swear he is going to wish he ever laid eyes on _my _Rachel."

"So why don't you do something about it San?"

Wait…what? I stop pacing (when did I start pacing?) and turn towards the voice I just heard and I see Mercedes, Tina, Quinn, and Brittany all looking at me with the same knowing smirks on their faces.

Wait…did I just say all that out loud?

"You obviously love her San. You just called her 'my Rachel'. This is your chance." Wait…when did Quinn find out?

"Yeah Sanny! You heard her. Just do what she wants. Give her the big romantic gesture and ask her to go to prom with you."

"Girl you better get your head outta you ass before Finn actually smarts up and asks her to prom."

"We all know Finn isn't the sharpest tool in the shed but he will catch on eventually."

Tina's right. They're all right. I always tell her she deserves better than that man-child. I think it's about time to show her. And there is no question that Santana Fucking Lopez is better than that sorry excuse for a boy.

Okay, I'm going to do this. I'm tired of sitting on my ass and watching the girl I love be with someone who doesn't deserve her. It's my turn now. I'm going to woo Rachel Berry and the girl won't know what hit her.

"Okay, I'm going to do this. But I'm going to need your help."

"Of course." Tina…check.

"Hell yeah girl, I'm down." Mercedes…check. I knew my home girl had my back!

"I'm in Lopez." Quinn…check.

"Oh my god, guys, I got it!"

"Got what, Brit-Brit?"

"The perfect name for the plan silly!"

"Ummm…okay Brittany. What did you have in mind?"

"It's kinda Lord Tubbington's idea so don't tell him I stole it cause he'll get mad and he is still angry at me for hiding his cigarettes, okay?"

Oh sweet lord…gotta love Britts and her cat.

"Okay Brit-Brit, we won't tell him, promise."

"Okay ready…Operation: Pezberry! It's amazing right?"

Face palm!

Hmmm…Pezberry…it's got a nice ring to it.

"Totally amazing Brit-Brit! Okay girls…lets do this shit. Planning session at my house after school."

When everyone agrees, I link pinkies with Britts and walk out of the bathroom. Britts and I share a free period so we just head for the library for some peace and quiet. It's totally naptime.

* * *

The planning session lasted about 3 hours, most of the time spent trying to talk Brittany out of ridiculously crazy ideas. I love the girl but wow…she comes up with some crazy stuff.

Aside from Brittany's over-the-top ideas, we actually came up with some really good ways for me to woo Rachel.

But I won't spoil the surprise by telling you. You'll just have to find out when Rachel does.

It's been about two hours since the girls left and since I got all my homework done in school, I've been sitting on my ass in the living room watching trashy reality TV.

That is until I hear excessive knocking coming from the front door. Who ever it is that is making me get up is going to get their asses kicked when I –

"Rach…"

She doesn't say anything. She just dives into my body when I open the door and starts crying harder than I've ever seen her cry since we became friends. I wrap my arms around her and lead her back into the living room and onto the couch. Instead of sitting though, she pushes me so I'm lying down and she climbs practically on top of me, snuggling into my chest.

"Rach…Tiny…what's wrong? Talk to me."

"C-can you j-j-just hold me San? P-please."

She sounds so broken. It's literally breaking my heart to see and hear her like this. It's so unlike _Rachel Berry_. So I do as she asks and I hold her. I run my hands up and down her back, I run my fingers through her hair, and I whisper things in her ear. All of which are supposed to be helping her calm down but none of it is working. She just keeps crying, more like sobbing, into my chest. She's going to make herself sick if she doesn't calm down.

"Tiny…I need you to calm down a little. You're going to make yourself sick. Or you're going to hyperventilate, neither of which are good things. Please Tiny, for me."

Okay that seems to be working. The sobbing has stopped by she is still crying.

"Shh…that's it Tiny. Just try to calm down okay. Deep breaths Rach. Just take deep breaths and listen to my voice."

Now I do the only thing I can think of that will truly get her to stop crying. I sing.

_For you, there'll be no more crying_

_For you, the sun will be shining_

_And I feel that when I'm with you_

_It's alright, I know it's right_

_To you, I'll give the world_

_To you, I'll never be cold_

_'Cause I feel that when I'm with you_

_It's alright, I know it's right_

_And the songbirds are singing,_

_Like they know the score_

_And I love you, I love you, I love you_

_Like never before_

After I finish the chorus once, I realize that her crying has stopped and her breathing has evened out. When I look down at her, I realize that she fell asleep during the song.

I use my hand to brush the hair that has fallen in her face away and hook it behind her ear.

God she is so beautiful.

I wish she knew that I actually meant the words I just sung to her. I really need this plan to work because I am so deeply in love with this girl.

She finally looks at peace for the first time since she fell into my arms a little over an hour ago so I don't have the heart to wake her up and bring her upstairs to my bed. I grab my phone off the coffee table and send a quick text to her dads to let them know she is staying over here tonight.

Once I get conformation from her dads, I grab the blanket off the back of the couch and drape it over us and then I wrap my arms around the sleeping diva, who is still practically on top of me. She hasn't moved since we laid down and now has a tight grip on my t-shirt, like she is afraid I'm going to leave her.

I place a lingering kiss to her forehead and make a promise to her and myself that I will fix whatever made her this upset. If it's a 'somebody' that made her this upset, well lets just say they will no longer be able to walk on their own two legs when I get through with them. I also silently promise her that once she is with me, I will make sure nothing ever makes her this upset again if I can help it.

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**AN: I hope you liked it. I have the next chapter mostly written so once I finish that and type it I'll put it up for you guys. Tomorrow by the latest. Let me know what you think! Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I'm so sorry about how late this is. I know I said that it would be up yesterday but work got in the way of that. I made this chapter longer to make up for it. I hope you like it.**

**Thanks for the reviews and alerts...I appreciate them!**

**I don't own Glee or the song and movie mention in this chapter. All mistakes are mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

I wake up the next morning to the smell of…wait…is that…bacon?

When I sit up and wipe the sleepiness from my eyes I realize that I slept on the couch. And that's when the events of last night come rushing back and I remember that Rachel slept here too.

Speaking of Rachel, where the hell is she?

I decide to follow that fantastic smell and it leads me to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I'm met with the most adorable site.

Rachel Berry, with her hair thrown up into a messy bun and wearing an old pair of my cheer sweats that are about a size to big and a tank top, dancing around using the spatula as microphone while singing 'Take Me or Leave Me' from _Rent_ as if she was acting in the musical.

I just lean against the doorway, perfectly content to just watch her act all carefree. This is the Rachel Berry that I love. I can't help but picture her 6 months from now, doing this exact same thing, but it's in our apartment in New York. But this time, instead of just watching, I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist and kiss the back of her neck –

"Oh my gosh San! You frightened me. How long have you been standing there?"

Wow! That was one fantastic daydream.

"San…"

"Huh, what? Oh…uh…umm…what was the question again?"

Fucking daydreams.

"I inquired as to how long you have been standing there watching me. But now I want to know what had you so distracted just now? You looked like you were off in your own little world."

If only she knew what I wanted my world to look like.

"You're beautiful."

Oh shit. Did I just say that out loud? Judging by the blush on Rachel's face and the way she is looking at me, I say yes I did. Shit, okay, damage control time.

"I – uh…I mean…you…um…look really cute and funny…dan-dancing around…in my – I mean in the kitchen."

"Oh…um…thanks. I guess."

Wait, why does it look like her face just fell al little at my explanation? I don't have time to figure it out though.

"Are you hungry? I made a lot of food."

"Holy shit, Rach. How long have you been awake?"

There is seriously a shit load of food on the kitchen table.

"I have an eternal clock that requires me to get up everyday at 5am. I have already been on a run and showered and cooked all this food. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day you know. I wanted to make sure you had a healthy, well-balanced breakfast. I know that you can't eat at school in fear of Coach Sylvester seeing you and I know that you have Cheerios practice before school so I wanted to make sure that you have enough energy to deal with Coach Sylvester and whatever she might throw at you."

"Rach, why do you seem nervous?"

"Nervous, why would you assume I'm nervous?"

"Tiny, you're rambling. And it's Saturday, we don't have school today."

"Oh…right…I guess I forgot."

Wow! Whatever happened last night must have really gotten to her if she didn't even realize what day it was.

She finally stops cooking and after putting a cup of coffee in front of me she sits down and starts to eat. (Yes, I have vegan friendly ingredients in my kitchen for her. And no, she didn't ask me to buy them. Shut up.)

After about ten minutes I can't take the silence anymore.

"Rach…"

"Yes, San?"

"What…um…what happened last night?"

She completely freezes at my question for a second before she puts her fork down and takes a sip of her juice. I can tell she really doesn't want to talk about it but after the way she showed up at my house last night, I'm going to make her tell me. And she knows this.

We lock eyes for about 20 seconds and when she sees that I'm not going to back down that easily she lets out a sigh and starts talking.

"Finn came to me during school yesterday. He told me that he had a special night planned for me so I should come over at 7. I got so excited because it sounded like he was finally going to do something sweet and romantic for me and maybe he was going to ask me to prom. I guess I should have known what it was really all about when he said Kurt was going to be at Blaine's house and Carol and Burt were in D.C."

She hasn't looked at me since she started talking. If she did she would see my tight jaw, clenched fists, and pure rage in my eyes. I know where this is going.

"So I get all dressed up and go to his house. He was so sweet, San. He had the kitchen set up like a romantic restaurant with candles and flowers. And he cooked, which I _thought_ was amazing at first."

She is starting to get worked up.

"Okay. Take a breath Rach and then tell me the rest." I tell her while reaching across the table and grabbing her hands.

"Dinner went well. I mean I thought it did. He actually looked like he was paying attention to me while I was talking. But I was so into the conversation that I didn't really pay attention to what he made to eat. I mean I remind him all the time that I'm vegan so I thought he would know what I don't eat. But then I started to feel sick. So I ran to the bathroom and practically emptied my stomach into the toilet. And he didn't even come to make sure I was okay."

I see her getting worked up again so I just squeeze her hands, that I am still holding, to let her know it's okay and that she can keep going when she is ready.

After she takes a minute to collect herself, she lets out a sigh and continues her story.

"When I came back into the kitchen, he asked me where I went. I literally did a double take because seriously, how could he not have heard me throwing up in the bathroom."

Fucking douchebag. Sorry I just had to throw that in there.

"I asked him what he made for dinner and he said meat lasagna. He answered with a smug smile like I should be thankful that he cooked for me. I was literally stunned. That's obviously what got me sick. I mean I haven't consumed any animal by-products since I went vegan at age 13 so my body isn't used to red meat.

"My boyfriend, who continues to tell me that he loves me, not only fed me meat on purpose, but he didn't even understand why I got sick or why I was so upset; he didn't see 'The big deal about eating a little meat' to use his exact words."

"Rach…I know how you are about your beliefs and how strict you are about your diet. I know how important it is to you. But is that the reason why you showed up here last night like you did?"

I mean I love the girl and I totally understand why she would have been upset but that's a little dramatic, even for her.

"I wish that was the reason." She whispers out.

And now I'm really nervous to hear the rest of this story.

"I was understandably upset, but I really didn't want to start a fight, so I let it go and filed it away to deal with at another time. That's when Finn suggested we watch a movie. So we go into the living room and we cuddle up on the couch and start watching some new romantic comedy that just came out.

"Not even ten minutes into the movie, Finn starts kissing my neck. I try very subtly to get him to stop and just watch the movie but he keeps kissing my neck and he puts his hand on my cheek to turn my face towards him. Before I could even tell him to stop so I could concentrate on the movie, his lips are on mine and he is practically shoving his tongue into my mouth."

I'm trying very hard to control my very sudden urge to run out of this house and find that jackass and beat the shit out of him. I'm suddenly very scared to hear the rest of the story.

"I try to push him off of me but he is so much bigger than me so he doesn't budge. He just pushes right back and before I know it, I'm on my back on his couch and he is panting on top of me. At this point, I'm starting to get scared because I've tried everything to get him off of me but he won't stop."

Oh god…please…don't let her tell me what I think she is about to tell me.

"I finally just start hitting him to get his attention. When he finally lets up to ask me what's wrong I just keep pushing him and yelling at him to get off of me, and he did. But I could see that he had this confused look on his face, like 'why did you stop me'.

"I just kept trying to breathe properly again and tried to get my heart rate back to normal. Once I was able to do that, I turned to him to question him about what just happened. He said he thought we were ready to take the next step in our relationship. Actually he said, and I quote, 'Rach, why did you stop me? I love you and I'm ready to show you how much I love you. I mean I set up this romantic date for you and I even cooked you dinner. I mean, it's only right that you give me this.'

"Then he started to get off the couch and move towards me like he wanted to pull me back onto the couch. I backed up until I hit the wall behind me and started yelling at him. I told him that just because he was ready didn't mean that I was. And that just because he cooked me one dinner, that ended up making me ill mind you, didn't mean that I would just give my virginity to him out of gratitude.

"I was getting more upset as I went on but I could still tell that all of what I just said to him was going in one ear and out the other. I could see it in his eyes that he really didn't care how I felt.

"I was so scared San. I've never been that scared in my life. And I never thought that Finn Hudson was the kind of guy to force himself on me like that but last night I – I thought he might…

"So I just ran. I ran away from him and towards the door. Thank Barbra that I left my stuff by the door. I just grabbed it and ran to my car and got in and drove away. I could hear him calling me as I ran from the house but all I could think about was getting out of there and away from him.

"I didn't even realize that I was on my way here until I pulled into your drive way."

Now the only thing stopping me from killing him right now is how small and scared Rachel looks after she finishes telling me what happened. I don't hesitate in walking to her side of the table and pulling her onto my lap on the seat next to hers. I wrap her up in my arms and hold her against my chest and just let her cry it out.

I rock her a little while whispering reassuring words into her ear. I just keep telling her that she is safe, that I won't let him hurt her, that I was there and would protect her.

She's been crying for about ten minutes now so I hook my arm under her knees and hold tightly to her waist to lift her up. I walk us back into the living room and sit down on the couch.

It takes her another ten minutes to calm down and stop crying. She pulls back from me and tries to hide her face, like she is embarrassed about breaking down like that. I hook my finger under her chin to force her to look at me.

"Please don't hide from me. You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Tiny."

I use my sleeve to wipe the tear streaks from her face, which causes her to give me a small smile. That's something, right?

"Do you feel better now?"

She just nods her head and lets out a whispered "yes."

She is being really quiet. She hasn't moved from my lap but she has her head bowed, like she is deep in thought. I don't want to push her, but at the same time I don't want her to keep everything she is feeling bottled up.

"Talk to me Tiny. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"I just keep running through the night in my head trying to figure out what I did to give him the idea that it was okay for him to be that forward with me. I don't think I gave him any signals that I was ready and I certainly didn't wear any provocative clothing."

"No. Don't do that. Look at me. Tiny, I need you to look at me."

I wait until she is looking at me before I keep going.

"None of what happened last night was your fault. You have been very straightforward with him, multiple times, about your desire to wait until till you're 25 before you have sex. He had absolutely no right to say what he said and he especially had no right to do what he did. You could have been wearing nothing but a bra and panties and I would be saying the same thing to you. You did the right thing by leaving."

"Logically, I know that, I really do. But I just can't help but think about what happens next."

"What do you mean what happens next? You're going to break up with him, that's what is going to happen next."

"I don't know if I want to do that though."

"Rach…are you serious? He basically attacked you last night and you're thinking about staying with him. What if he tries it again and this time you can't stop him?"

"I know San, but –"

"But nothing Rae –"

"He's a good guy San. I really don't think he'll try anything like this again."

I push her off my lap because I'm starting to get angry but I really don't want to show her that. I get up and start pacing; it's how I calm down when I get really angry.

"Why are you defending him Rach? Do you remember how you showed up here last night? You were crying so hard I thought you were gonna be sick. How can you defend him and want to stay with him after what he did?"

"Because he's all I have San!"

I stop pacing at her outburst. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

"What are you talking about he's all you have? You have me and your dads, you have Brittany and Quinn, and you're Puck's 'Jewish American Princess' for Christ sake. We are all here and we're not going anywhere."

"I've been through almost 4 years of high school and he is the only person that showed any interest in me. Where would I be without Finn Hudson? He is the only person who has loved me. If I don't have him then who else is there? No one else wants to be with me."

I instantly deflate at her explanation and all the anger leaves my body. I walk back towards where she is sitting on the couch and kneel in front of her and take her hands in mine.

"You are Rachel Barbra Berry, future Broadway star. No one can define you but you, especially not some boy who will amount to absolutely nothing in his life. You deserve someone so much better than that boy, who will do nothing but drag you down and hold you back. You deserve someone who would walk around proudly because they have you on their arm. You deserve someone who would gladly stand on the sidelines and watch you shine, but would be the first person to say 'That's my girlfriend' to anyone that would listen. Someone who would go with you to every audition if you wanted them to. Someone who would be your biggest cheerleader when you land that first Broadway role, even if it's choir member number 3. But you also deserve someone who would hold you and let you be upset if for some reason the casting idiot doesn't choose you, and will then tell you that you were too amazing for that part anyway. And as soon as you break out the 'Finn Hudson' spell that you seem to have been under since sophomore year and open your eyes to other possibilities, you will see that there will be people lining up for the chance to be with someone as amazing as you Rachel Berry."

I really hope she sees and hears the sincerity behind what I just told her. Right now she is just staring at me, with tears in her eyes but no other emotion on her face. I just stare right back with what I will never admit to be tears in my eyes as well. It's allergies, I swear.

After about two minutes of this, she launches herself into me and wraps her arms tightly around my neck. Thank god for Sue Sylvester or I would have not been able to balance us with how I was kneeling in front of her and we would have gone crashing through the glass coffee table.

She whispers a 'thank you' in my ear and kisses my check before she pulls back out of the embrace. Thank God for my Latina complexion or she would have seen some serious blushing on my face.

"How about we have a lazy Saturday, huh? I'll put in Funny Girl and we can make vegan hot coco or something and cuddle on the couch."

I figure a change of subject would be good for her right now. And judging by the smile on her face at the mention of Funny Girl, I'd say it was the best idea I had in a while.

"That sounds like an excellent plan, but I don't have Funny Girl with me. We can just watch something else."

"I…um…bought it…a little while ago…incase you were here and wanted to watch it. I know you like to watch it when you're upset."

"You bought it? Miss 'I hate this movie and I refuse to watch it again' after I made you watch it the first time over the summer. "

"Yeah, well it wasn't as bad as I said it was. I do have a rep to protect you know. Can't go letting anyone believe that I may have liked the musical."

"Yes, well I suppose that is true. What would the students at McKinley say if they found out that Badass Santana Lopez likes Funny Girl?"

That's when I threw a pillow at her. Which ended up being thrown right back at me and hitting me square in the face. I can't bring myself to care though because the smile on her face is a huge Rachel Berry smile, and a real one too, not that show face smile.

God, she is so beautiful.

"Okay, well, why don't you put the movie in and I'll go make you some vegan hot coco."

I kiss her forehead and start heading for the kitchen.

"Hey San?"

"Yeah Tiny?"

She looks like she wants to say something important but she stops herself from saying it.

"Can you make vegan popcorn too?"

"Of course Tiny. Anything for you."

And seriously, I would do anything for this girl.

That includes calling up a dear friend of mine, and maybe Puck I haven't decided if I wanted to involve him yet, and paying a certain jackass a little surprise visit tonight. No one hurts _my girl_ and gets away with it. He's gonna wish he never met Rachel Berry when I'm through with him.

* * *

**AN: Next up: more pezberry fluffiness and Santana Lopez kicking ass! **

**Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: So sorry this took so long. I have a million excuses but I'm sure you don't want to hear them. I made this chapter longer to make up for it. Hopefully it lives up to what you were hoping to read.**

**Thanks for the reviews and alerts and favorites!**

**I don't own Glee or Funny Girl. **

* * *

**Chapter 6**

So remember when I said that I don't mind watching Funny Girl? Well I take that back. I am currently sitting through it for the third time since Rachel put it on.

I guess things could be worse though. Rachel hasn't cried since we put the movie in. 5 hours ago. That's progress right?

She also hasn't let go of my shirt since she cuddled up to me on the couch to watch the movie. Seriously, girl has a vice grip. Totally not complaining though. Except I really have to use the bathroom.

Hmmm…lets see…she is really into the movie. Maybe I can just gently and slowly unwrap her fingers from my shirt and slip away without –

"Where are you going?"

No such luck.

"I have to go to the bathroom. I didn't want to disturb you. I know how much you _love _this movie."

Since it's playing for the third damn time.

"Oh, okay, sorry. I didn't mean to hold you captive."

"No worries. I wasn't complaining."

I'm not paying attention when I walk back into the living room so I don't notice that the movie isn't playing any more or that Rachel isn't sitting on the couch.

"Hey Rach, are you hungry? I'm seriously starving."

Getting no response from her makes me look up and I realize she isn't there anymore. Where did she go?

I walk around the house but she is nowhere to be found. I'm starting to get worried. What if she went back to _his_ house?

"Rach…Rachel, where are you?"

Why isn't she answering me?

I'm currently standing in the kitchen trying to figure out where the hell this girl went when the back door catches my eye. I haven't checked outside.

And what do I find when I look outside? Rachel Berry, curled up on the swing on the back porch, with tears streaming down her face.

"Tiny…"

I don't waste any time in rushing over to the swing and pulling her into my arms.

"You scared the shit out of me when I came back from the bathroom and I couldn't find you anywhere. I thought you left and went back – "

I can't get that thought out because Rachel has put her finger over my lips to get me to stop talking. _Such a soft finger._ Crying girl, focus Santana.

"I just needed some air. I'm not going back to that house if I can help it."

I just nod and wipe the tear streaks off her cheeks. _Her eyes are so beautiful. _Focus Santana.

"So why are you crying?"

"Because after you went to the bathroom, my phone started to vibrate on the table. Finn was calling. I couldn't bring myself to answer so I let it go to voicemail. He said that he was willing to forgive me for running out on him after he worked so hard on the date. He said that he'd be willing to give me a chance to make it up to him tonight, since Carol and Burt were staying in D.C. another night. I felt like I couldn't breathe, so I came out here. When I sat down, I looked at my phone to see how many times he tried to call me, but he didn't. He didn't call or text me at all since last night, except for 10 minutes ago. And he only called to tell me that he is willing to forgive me. Like I did something wrong. Like it's my fault that he tried to force himself on me and – "

"Shh Rach, you have nothing to apologize for. You did absolutely nothing wrong."

"I know, San, I know. That's not why I'm crying. Well it is a little bit, but mainly because I'm just so angry with him."

"Well that's good. Anger is good. Wanna go all Lima Heights on something? I've learned it helps with the anger."

I give her a big cheesy smile and I get a laugh out of her. A real genuine laugh. It's one of the greatest sounds I've ever heard.

"As fun as that sounds, I do not 'wanna go all Lima Heights' on something."

"You probably shouldn't say that again, even though you look incredibly adorable when you try to look and sound like me."

"Well, at least I can say that I tried," she says with a little shoulder shrug. _Freaking adorable. _Ugh, focus Santana.

"True, very true. Everyone should try at least once to be like me so they know without a doubt that they can _never _be as awesome as me."

Ahhh…Rachel Berry laughing…music to my ears.

"All kidding aside though, why were you really crying?"

"Relief mostly. I've come to the decision that you were right."

"Well, I usually am, but what was I right about this time?"

"I'm going to break up with him once and for all."

"Well it's about god damn time, Tiny!"

"San, please, I'm trying to be serious here."

"Right, of course, sorry. Continue."

"I can't be with someone who disrespects my wishes and beliefs like that. Thanks to you, I believe that I do deserve better. So thank you. What you said earlier, it meant more than you could probably ever know."

"No need to thank me, I just spoke the truth."

If she only knew that by people lining up for her I meant that I was at the front of the line. But right now she needs a friend, not someone else professing their undying love for her. Wow! That was dramatic. I'm really spending a lot of time with Rachel.

"I'm scared though. I'm scared to actually tell him. I'm scared of what he is going to do when I tell him. It's no secret that he has anger issues."

"Well, that is one thing you won't have to worry about. Because I will be there when you tell him, if you want me to. And Puck would totally have your back too. I meant what I said this morning, I'm not going to let him hurt you ever again."

"I would really like that. And as much as you think you're badass and can take on anyone, I think it would be best if Noah was there too. Just in case."

"I think that's an excellent idea. It'll just be one more person to stop me from actually killing the idiot."

"Please don't Santana. I could see it in your eyes when I told you the story. I don't want you to hurt him. I don't want him to have any ammunition to use against you. I need you here, with me, not incarcerated because you assaulted Finn."

"Don't worry Tiny, he won't be able to do anything to me. I promise. What I have in mind for him, just don't worry about it. I got it covered."

"I have a feeling that whatever I say to try to convince you to not go after him will fall on deaf ears. So just promise me you won't do anything that will get you in trouble or get you hurt. And I really don't want any of the details."

"Promise."

"Okay, good, now how about lunch? Judging by the sounds that your stomach is making, am I to assume correctly that you are as famished as I am?"

"Why can't you just ask if I'm hungry?"

"Ok fine. Are you hungry Santana?"

"Yes, I am, I'm starving actually."

"Well, then you better find something to make yourself for lunch. Wouldn't want you to starve to death."

Wait…where is she going?

"Wait…Rach…I thought you were going to make us lunch. Why do I have to make my own lunch?"

Yes I am very aware that I sound like a whiny bitch. I just really don't want to cook and Rachel makes really good food.

"Maybe you shouldn't make fun of the people who were once willing to cook for you."

Damn it. Why do I always go and put my big foot in my big mouth? Sandwich it is, I guess.

Oh my god! What is that smell! That smells freaking amazing.

"Rach, what are you making? It smells amazing?"

"I am currently cooking _my_ lunch. Oh and look, I only cut up enough veggies for one serving. I'm deeply sorry. But I'm sure these will be sufficient for you for _your_ lunch."

She throws the bread and lunchmeat towards me on the kitchen island. The devilish smirk she is sporting is highly unwelcomed. I wonder if I hold out long enough, she might take pity on me and give me some of her stir-fry.

Lets test this theory. No way Rachel Berry lets her friends go hungry.

5 minutes.

10 minutes.

She is putting her food on her plate. Only one plate.

She is currently sitting in front of me, eating her lunch. Oh my god, it looks heavenly. A lot better then a stupid sandwich, which I have yet to make.

The smirk hasn't left her face, mind you.

15 minutes.

"Hey San?"

Finally, here we go.

"Yeah Rach."

I can practically taste it; I knew she wouldn't let me go hungry.

"When I'm done eating, do you want to watch another movie?"

Damn. Shot down. Hello bread.

"Yeah, sure Rach, whatever you want."

Do I even have to tell you what I ate for lunch? No, I didn't think so.

* * *

Thankfully, Funny Girl was not the movie we decided to watch. I can only take so much Barbra, but I would never say that aloud to Rachel. I really don't want to sit through an hour-long lecture, and the powerpoint presentation that would undoubtedly accompany it, about how amazing Barbra Streisand is. I managed to convince her to put in some romantic comedy instead.

I guess the movie wasn't that good though because Rachel fell asleep some time during it. When I look up and realize that she is asleep, I see that the movie's credits are rolling. I wasn't paying attention to the movie. I was to deep in thought about what I wanted to do to Finn Hudson.

She looks so beautiful when she is sleeping, so peaceful. Somehow, I am able to get out from under her on the couch. I give her a body pillow to snuggle with in place of me. It seems to placate her because she doesn't wake up. Mission accomplished.

Now on to phase two. Call Quinn and Brittany. Someone needs to stay with her while I go deal with the jackass.

When Brit and Quinn get here, I tell them what happened. I know Rachel wouldn't do it, she would feel to embarrassed to tell them. But they are her friends; they deserve to know so they can be there for her.

When I finish telling them, Quinn looks like she is about to explode with rage. As for Brittany, well lets just say that the sweet, innocent Brittany that we have all come to know and love, yeah she isn't around right now.

I manage to convince them to stay here with Rachel instead of coming with me. I know Q though; I can already see her plotting her own revenge in her head. I'm sure she'll tell me later. I don't have time right now.

It takes about an hour to get through the whole story, from when she showed up here to our conversation outside on the back porch. I look at my watch after I convince them to stay here. 7 o'clock. Perfect.

I call my cousin and explain the situation; he has met Rachel before and jumps on board immediately. My cousin actually lives in Lima Heights, and despite the fact that he is a total nerd, I told him to dress the part tonight. I really wanna scare the shit out Finn tonight.

Next I call Puck. I told him to get dressed and to be at my house in 30 minutes. I'll explain everything to him on the way to pick up my cousin.

I run upstairs and change and grab the supplies I'll need. This is going to be an amazing night.

30 minutes later, I hear Puck beeping outside.

I run into the living room to tell Q and B that I'm leaving and that I'll be back soon. Rachel is still asleep so I just kiss her forehead before I head out.

Lets just say that I had to grab the wheel three times while telling Puck everything that happened so we didn't crash. He looks like he wants to murder Finn. I totally understand the feeling.

After we pick up my cousin, who looks awesome and scary just like I wanted, we head over to the Hummel-Hudson household. There aren't any cars in the driveway besides Finn's truck so we're in the clear. I have no idea where Kurt is so I'm hoping he doesn't come home any time soon.

I don't even bother knocking on the door, we just walk right in. We find him playing video games in his room. Even better, he's already in a room where I can lock the door.

His back is to the door so he doesn't see us walk in.

Puck and Manuel (my cousin) grab him and put him in the chair that I grabbed from the kitchen. He put up a struggle, but between the three of us we managed to tie him to the chair. Now the fun can begin.

"Well, well, well, Mr. Hudson. How does it feel to feel trapped? Like there is no way you can get away? Not such a great feeling, huh?"

"What are you talking about, Satan? What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

Damn his face is hard. But that right hook felt really good. Maybe that'll shut his ass up.

"You don't get to talk unless I ask you a direct question. Now, I know you know Puck, but let me introduce you to my cousin, Manny. Manny here lives with mi Abuela in Lima Heights."

Holy shit, the petrified look on his face almost makes me break character and start laughing. That idea definitely worked.

"Now Hudson, didn't your mommy ever tell you that it is very impolite to force yourself on someone?"

"What the hell are you talking about Satan?"

"Shut up Hudson, let her finish before I start bashing your pathetic face in."

That was Puck. And while skipping to that sounds promising, I really want him to admit it first.

"Now Puck, we'll totally have time for that later. Right now I want to hear him admit it. I want him to admit that he was trying to force Rachel to have sex with him."

His eyes practically bulged out of his head when I said that. He didn't think she would tell anyone.

"Wh-what are you talking about? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh really, is that why she showed up at my house crying because she ran away from your house after you tried to make her have sex with you?"

"She lied to you. You know how dramatic Rachel can be."

"No she didn't lie to me. But you're lying to me right now. And I don't appreciate it when people lie to me."

I snap my fingers, which means Manny steps forward like he is going to do something to Finn, but the bitch-baby starts yelling before Manny can take his second step.

Damn, too bad Manny is like a mathematical genius, because he is an amazing actor.

"No, no, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't try to make her have sex with me. She told me she was ready, she said she wanted it. But she freaked out and ran after we started. She didn't stop before I could talk to her. But she wanted it."

"Okay now I know that what you're saying is a bunch of bullshit. One, I saw her last night and this morning when she told me what happened. No way she made up that story. And two, no way anyone would want to willingly have sex with you. And that's coming from someone who slept with you before, if you could even call it sex since it lasted about 5 seconds."

When I say this, both Puck and Manny start to laugh.

"5 seconds, dude, seriously? You got an early arrival problem or somethin'?"

"Shut up, I don't have a problem."

"Mother fucker, you did not just tell me to shut up?"

Finn looks really scared now with the way Manny is walking towards him. I'm a little scared too, Manny looks genuinely pissed.

"Not yet Manny. I need him to be able to talk for this part. When I'm done you can have at him."

I grab the tape recorder out of my bag. He is going to confess to this on tape. I need something to hold over his head so he doesn't go to the cops about tonight.

"Now Finn, be a good boy and just tell us the truth. It'll all be over much faster that way."

"Like hell I will. She wanted it. If you saw her last night, you saw what she was wearing. No body wears a dress like that without wanting to have sex."

Damn, that one really hurt my hand. Now at least he'll have matching black eyes.

"She could have been wearing a fucking bra and panties, that doesn't give you the right to try to have sex with her when she tells you no, jackass."

Puck has been really quiet this whole time, but I can see him out of the corner of my eye, he really wants to hurt Finn.

"Okay fine, you want the truth here it is."

I hit record on the tape recorder. I really didn't think it would be this easy. Thought it'd take a couple more punches for him to give it up. Maybe it's just the fact that Manny has been cracking his knuckles for the last 3 minutes.

"We've been together long enough. I put up with her rambling and clinginess. I even put up with the fact that she is best friends with the biggest bitch at school. So I thought it was time that I deserved some action. I made her dinner, which she wasn't even grateful for and put on a romantic movie. And what do I get, nothing. She wouldn't put out. But I told her I would forgive her if she wants another chance."

That's pretty much all he gets out before Puck has had enough. I stop the tape and put it away before I grab Puck and try to hold him back. He really can't kill him, even though I really want him to. I let him get in one good face shot and a few good body shots before Manny and I pull him back. He is still yelling at Finn though.

"I swear to God Hudson, if you ever come anywhere near her again I will kill you, do you hear me?"

I calm him down enough and go to untie Finn from the chair. Before I do that, I whisper one more threat into his ear.

"Rachel is going to officially break up with you on Monday. You will not act like the boy you are. You will not say one negative word to her, you will apologize to her for what you did, and then you will leave her alone. If not, I'll make sure your mommy hears the little confession you just made. Do I make myself clear Hudson?"

"What if – what if I don't huh? No way my mom believes you. What are gonna do then, huh Satan?"

Damn, Puck got him good if he is having this much trouble catching his breath.

"Santana won't do anything but I will. Understood?," Manny says. And the threat is clear. I can hear the gulp that Finn takes before he nods his head repeatedly.

If he only knew that Manny wouldn't even kill a spider because he is afraid of them.

I untie Finn and back out of the doorway with Manny. Puck hands me the keys and tells me to go take Manny home and that he'll pick up his truck at my house later. I don't need to ask what he has in mind. I really don't want to know anyway.

* * *

I drop Manny off at his house and thank him for his services.

"Don't worry San, anything for Rachel. It was kind of fun too."

"Yeah, you seriously had me a little scared back there. Who knew you were such a good actor."

"Who said it was acting? How do you think a guy like me survives in this neighborhood?"

"Manny, I – "

"No San, don't. I'm okay. I leave for college in a couple months. I'm okay. I promise."

I really can't say anything so I just nod my head and kiss his cheek goodbye.

My aunt and uncle died a couple of years ago so Manny had to go live with our Abuela. I tried to make my parents let him live with us, but they never said why he couldn't. Boy is seriously a genius though. He got a full scholarship to MIT, so he'll be in New York with Rachel and I.

* * *

When I get back to my house, Rachel is awake. I can hear her laughter, along with Quinn and Brittany's coming from the living room.

Have I mentioned how much I love the sound of her laugh?

"What the hell is going on in here?"

"Sanny, you're back. We were just watching The Hangover. Can you believe Rachie hasn't seen it yet?"

"Seriously, why didn't I know you haven't seen this? I totally would have made you watch it."

"I don't know San, it never came up." The shrug that accompanies that statement is really cute. She's just really cute in general.

"Maybe she just had you watching to many musicals S. Never pegged you for the type to own Funny Girl." Quinn's trying to hide her smug smile, but I can totally see it.

"Shut up."

All I get is more laughing. Some friends they are.

"As much as I love this little 'lets make fun of Santana' moment, I'm going to find something to drink. Anybody want anything?"

"No Sanny, Rachie made us hot coco, we're good."

"I'll come with you S, I've seen this movie so many times it really isn't that funny to me anymore."

I nod and start towards the kitchen.

"So how did it go?"

"Definitely didn't take as long as I thought it would. My cousin had him really scared and I hit him a couple of times. Sang like a canary. I have it on tape."

"Good. How bad did you leave him?"

"I only hit him twice. Gave the jackass matching black eyes. I really wanted to do more but I promised Rach I wouldn't do anything that would get me into trouble. Puck got him a couple of times too before Manny and I pulled him off of him."

"You gave him black eyes? What if he tells someone?"

"Oh don't worry. I'm pretty sure Manny scared him enough to not say anything. Plus, Puck stayed behind when Manny and I left, so I have no idea what the damage really is."

"I can only image what Puck is doing to him. He really loves Rachel. Did you know that he and Rachel used to be really close before high school? And they stayed close friends during high school but kept it secret because Rach knew Puck wanted to be popular."

"I'll never be able to forgive myself for what I did to her."

"Well, thank God that she has an amazing heart."

"I know Quinn, I thank God everyday for that."

We are broken out of our little depressive mood when I hear the front door slam shut. When we head back into the living room, I see Rachel wrapped up in a tight hug from Puck. He has her head cradled against his chest and I can tell he is saying something to her but I can't hear what he is saying.

But I can see that she has some tears falling down her face.

And I'm totally feeling jealous right now.

I can feel someone put their hand on my shoulder and I turn to see Quinn standing behind me.

"They are like brother and sister, you have nothing to be jealous of," she whispers to me before she walks fully into the living room and sits next to Brittany.

Puck and I lock eyes and he gives me a little nod. That nod means Finn is taking care of. I can't wait to see what he looks like on Monday.

When Rachel gives Puck a kiss on his cheek the jealous feeling tightens my chest a little more. I sit down on the couch and can't help but let my mind wonder. Will she want to be with Puck after she ends things with Finn? Will Puck go after her? Do I even have a chance if that happens? They are obviously close.

"Lets put in another movie. I like hanging out here with all you guys, I don't feel like going home yet."

"Sure Rachie, what do you want to watch?"

"I'll order some pizzas." That would be Puck, always eating.

"Awesome, thanks Noah." That thanks held a lot more than just thanks for ordering pizza.

My train of thought is completely forgotten though when Rachel plops herself into my lap. She wraps her arms around my neck and gives me a kiss on my cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For being you. I know you made Quinn and Brittany come here so you could go…there. But I'm happy, I have close friends now, and that's mostly because of you."

"You have close friends because you're an amazing and forgiving person. None of us deserve it, but I know we're all extremely thankful for it."

She gives me another kiss and lays her head against my shoulder and starts watching the movie that Brittany chose.

I look over her head towards Brittany and Quinn snuggled up on the loveseat, Brittany with a smile on her face directed at me and Quinn with an 'I told you so' expression on her face.

Puck just winks at me and sits on the ground. When did he find out about my feelings for Rachel?

Does this mean he doesn't want to be with her and my insecurities are unwarranted? Maybe Puck and I should have a conversation.

Regardless, come Monday, after she breaks up with Finnept, I'm totally putting my plan into action. I'm totally gonna make Rachel Berry mine.

* * *

**AN: Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry this took so long. I made it extra long to make up for the wait.**

**I don't own Glee or the song used in this chapter.**

**All mistakes are mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Staring at the front door of the Berry house is quite nerve wracking. I was so sure of myself this weekend, but now I'm starting to second-guess myself.

After Puck and I got back from Finn's house, we actually had a lot of fun. We all provided Rach with the distraction she needed and we managed to pull some real genuine laughs and smiles from her. Especially when Puck suggested we play truth or dare and Brit dared him to wear one of my…rather more provocative…dresses, complete with heels and makeup, and knock on my neighbor's door and ask to borrow some sugar.

Of course we all watched so we all saw my neighbor's mortified expression at seeing him, and his mortified expression when she threatened to call the cops. Puck trying to run in heels is a sight everyone should have to see before they die. Fucking hilarious!

I have a feeling he stopped caring about it though when we saw the way Rachel starting rolling on the ground with laughter.

Needless to say, everyone stayed at my house. But not before Rachel had to convince her dads that everything was okay and that she was just spending the weekend at my house because my mom was away on business and my dad worked a long shift at the hospital. That actually being true may have helped to convince them.

She did go back home on Sunday though; it's her day that she spends with her dads so I couldn't really protest. I could see her try to put her mask on though. We talked about what she would tell her dads about what happened. She said that she would just tell them that she broke things off with Finn because she wanted to focus on New York if they asked her.

I wasn't to convinced that they would believe her but I couldn't really do anything about it. It was her decision after all.

Not spending Sunday with her actually turned out to be really helpful though. I was able to get some shopping and organizing done so I can start trying to win the heart of one Rachel Berry.

Which leads me to where I am now. Standing in front of the Berrys' front door, with 4 cups of coffee, trying to get up the confidence to knock on the door.

I texted her this morning asking her if she would like a ride to school. She readily responded that she would love one, complete with a smiley face that was just so _Rachel,_ it made me smile.

I finally just take a deep breath and remind myself that I'm _Santana Fucking Lopez_ and that I can do this and I knock on the door.

Leroy is the one that answered and he went to pull me into a hug but saw the coffees I was holding last minute. Thank God, I really didn't want to have to explain to Sue why my Cheerios top was covered in coffee.

I'm ushered into the living room while Leroy tells me that Rachel would be ready any minute. I tell him its cool and that I'm not in any rush to leave, and hand him the coffee I bought for him. I give Hiram his when he walks into the room after Leroy calls for him.

What? I gotta get in good with the dads…and I've learned that caffeine is the way to the heart of the Berry men.

They've always liked me (especially Hiram because we used to make fun of Finn together when Rachel wasn't around) so I don't think it'll be too hard to convince them that they should allow me to date their daughter. But that's a conversation for a different day. Especially with the way they are looking at me right now.

If I didn't know them and their personalities, I would swear they are trying to be their own version of the gay mafia or something. They look all serious and shit and they look like they want answers. Specifically answers from me. This can't be good.

"What's up guys, you're kind of scaring me."

"Why are we scaring you sweetie? Thanks for the coffee by the way, delicious."

"No problem H. But…uh…you look like you're about to try to get answers out of me…whether I want to give them or not. I've…uh…just never seen you guys this serious before."

"Was Rachel with you this weekend?"

"Uh…yes…she came over Friday night and stayed until Sunday morning. I know she told you this, I'm the one who texted you on Friday night and I saw Rach call you on Saturday."

"Oh, yes we are aware that that is what she told us. But we also know our daughter very well and the fake smile she has been sporting since she came home on Sunday leads me to believe that something happened to her that she has yet to tell us."

Well, at least we know Rach gets her paragraph speaking from Leroy.

"So as you can see Santana, that leaves Leroy and myself with some questions. The most important one being what happened at your house that made her that upset?"

Wait…they think it's my fault?

"What makes you think it's my fault that she's upset?"

"She spent the weekend with you at your house. When she left here on Friday she was her happy self. One weekend at your house and she is walking around with a fake smile on."

"Whoa, hold on a minute. Rachel is my best friend. There is no way I would do anything to upset her or hurt her." Except for what I did in the past but she still hasn't told her dads about how she was treated at school before we became friends so I can't bring that up.

"And it wasn't just Rachel and I on Saturday. Brittany and Quinn came over and so did Puck and they all stayed over too."

Now I'm starting to get a little angry.

After I calm down a little I see that Leroy and Hiram's demeanor has changed and they look like they believe what I said.

"We believe you Santana."

"Yes, Santana, we do. Please except our apologies. It's just we haven't seen a fake smile like that in a while, since she became friends with you actually, so we just want to find out what happened."

"And you were the only person she told us she was with, so we jumped to conclusions. Leroy and I are very sorry. We know you wouldn't do anything to hurt Rachel."

"Wait…she didn't tell you that she had a date with Finn on Friday night?"

They look confused and after looking at each other and doing that crazy non-verbal conversation thing that couples do, they both shake their heads no.

I really don't want to break the promise I made with Rachel about telling her dads but I have to give them something. I can see Hiram's brain going a mile a minute coming up with scenarios about what could have happened.

"Look, you can't tell Rach I said any of this to you, I promised her I wouldn't and I really don't want to break that promise. But I'll tell you the overall story and I'll leave it up to her if she wants to give you the details, okay?"

When they both nod their heads I tell them what I can. They are her fathers and they deserve to know something.

"She knocked on my door Friday night, a crying mess, and she couldn't tell me anything. It took some time, but I got her to calm down and she eventually fell asleep. That's when I texted you to tell you she was staying at my house.

"I got her to tell me what happened the next morning. Finn set up a dinner date at his house. The douche bag fed her meat and she ended up getting sick and he did nothing to help her and didn't understand why she got sick or why she was mad that he made her meat lasagna."

Every time I retell the story I can feel myself getting angry again, so I have to take a minute to calm down before I can continue.

"She was pissed, but didn't want to get into another fight with him. Apparently they haven't been the happy couple that they said they were. So they decided to watch a movie. Finn got a little too touchy feely and it made Rach uncomfortable so she tried to get him to stop. He didn't like that, made some comments about how he was ready for sex and shit and didn't listen to her when she tried to tell him she wasn't ready. So she left his house and came to me. That's the jist of it."

"That little fucker, I'm going to go kill him."

Both Hiram and I jump off the couch to stop Leroy. Dude is fucking strong.

"Leroy, wait, it's already taken care of."

"What do you mean it's already taken care of? You didn't kill him did you?" The fact that the last part was whispered lets me know Rachel also gets her dramatic side from Leroy.

"No I didn't kill him. Trust me, the thought crossed my mind more then ten times but no I didn't kill him."

"Okay good, I'm a good lawyer but I don't even think I would be able to get you off for that one."

"Aww…I have every confidence that you would be able to H, I'm not worried."

"Well, thanks, I think. But could you maybe enlighten us as to what you mean when you say 'it's already taken care of'."

"Oh sure, Puck and I paid him a visit. I left before Puck so I can't really say what the extent of the damage was, but he knows that if he even looks at Rachel then very bad things will happen to him."

"You know I don't condone violence, probably the one thing Rachel gets from me, but thank you, for defending our baby. If anything comes of this from a legal standpoint, I'll take of it."

"Thanks H. And your thanks are not needed. Nobody hurts my Rachel and gets away it."

Oh shit. Did I just say –

"Your Rachel, huh?"

"Uhh…umm…what I meant to…what I mean is… -"

"Dad, Daddy, is Santana here yet?"

Saved by the diva…thank God!

"Yeah Rach, I'm down here. Hurry up, your coffee is getting cold."

At the word coffee I hear her come running down the stairs.

"Did somebody say coffee?"

"Yeah Tiny, one soy latte, just for you."

"Mmmm…thanks San."

Oh, and another kiss. She's been kissing my cheek a lot lately.

"Come on, we gotta get going if we want to get there on time. Later Leroy, H."

"Bye Santana, thank you, and thank you for the coffee."

"No problem, anytime."

"Bye Dad, bye Daddy, have a great day."

She kisses each of them and grabs my hand as we walk towards the door. I look back at the Berry men and they have knowing smirks on their faces. Just great. Does the whole fucking town know that I like Rachel?

* * *

The ride to school was uneventful. I can tell Rach is nervous about seeing Finn but I don't bring it up.

Our first couple of classes went by pretty normally. We have homeroom, first and second period together. But we unfortunately don't have third together. So I walk her to her class and instead of going to mine, I skip and go to her locker.

Let phase one of Operation: Pezberry begin.

After third, I meet back up with Rachel before lunch. I know her lunch is in her locker, which I planned so she would have to go there after class, so we walk towards her locker.

But before we get there, we spot Finn standing by his locker. I can feel Rachel tense next to me so I grab her hand and give it a squeeze so she knows I'm here and that she is okay.

I can see that she is fighting an internal battle about whether or not to go talk to him. She takes a deep breath and starts walking towards him.

I let go of her hand and she immediately stops and looks back at me.

"You need to do this on your own, for you, but I'm right here. If anything happens I'll see it or I'll hear it and I'll be there in three steps, okay?"

She just nods and after giving me a small smile she walks up to him. I'm close enough so I hear every word.

"Hi Finn. I was wondering if you could spare a minute to speak with me?"

When he turns toward her, we both let out a gasp at his face. Holy fucking shit. I'm totally buying Puck a six-pack this weekend. Finn's face looks like a color by numbers done by a 6 year old.

"Finn, oh my goodness. What happened to your face?"

"Fight club. I'm fine Rach."

He is also grabbing his ribs and looks like he is in a lot of pain. Puck must have really gone to town. Almost wish I were there to see it.

"Since when do you go to fight club Finn?"

"It's fight club, I can't talk about it. What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, okay. Umm…there really is no easy way to say this…so I'm just going to say it. I did some thinking this weekend after – well on Saturday and I've come to the decision that I no longer wish to be in a romantic relationship with you."

"Okay Rachel, I understand."

"I need you to accept it Finn and move on, there is nothing that is going to – wait what?"

He looks like he is about to say something that he shouldn't say so I let out a couple of quiet coughs so he knows I'm listening. He snaps his mouth shut really quickly after he realizes that I can hear him.

"I understand Rachel. I'm not going to fight you on this. If you want to break up, then we are broken up. Okay?"

"Um…okay Finn."

With that, he just walks off, with a slight limp. I know I said this before but I'll say it again. I almost wish I were there to see what Puck did to him.

"You okay Rach?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine. I just didn't expect him to take it like that. I was expecting yelling and shouting and maybe a knocked over chair."

"Maybe he realized what the rest of us have known all along…that he doesn't deserve you and just decided to give in instead of fight it."

"Or maybe someone did something or said something that would imply something would happen to him if he tried to argue with me."

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about Tiny."

"Just please tell me that you weren't the one to hurt him like that."

"The black eyes are from me, I won't lie to you, but everything else happened after I left, I promise."

"Wait…who went with you that would have stayed behind to do that to him?"

I thought she knew Puck was with me, especially with how I found them in a hug on Saturday. I just assumed he was telling her that he took care of Finn.

"How's my Jewish-American princess doing on this fine day?"

I see the light bulb go off in her head.

"Noah, I'm quite well thank you. But lets skip the pleasantries. What the hell did you do to Finn?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything. I was just being a good bro and showed him what fight club was like. He always wanted to go."

"I'm not even going to waist my breath on a lecture right now, about Finn or the fact that you still partake in fight club. Just promise me that you won't get into trouble."

"Trouble is my middle name baby." At the serious expression he sees on Rachel's face he decides to change his statement. "I promise Rach, I won't get into trouble. He totally deserved it anyway."

"I'm just going to say thank you and move on, okay?"

He nods his head and Rachel gives him a long hug and a kiss on his cheek. Now I'm pissed because she is only supposed to be kissing me. _She's not your girl yet Lopez, calm down._

"Hey Rach, why don't you go get your lunch, I need to talk to Puck for a second. Just meet me back here."

"Sure San, bye Noah."

"Later Rach."

"Puckerman."

"Lopez."

"Okay, first off, nice job with Finnept. Couldn't have done it better myself. Looks like the fucking rainbow threw up on his face."

"Thanks, it felt totally amazing. Fucking douche bag deserved it."

"Okay, now done to business. I know you know about my feelings for Rachel, so I want to know your angle here. Am I going to have to fight you for her? Because I will, and with everything I have, so you should be prepared for one hell of a fight."

The smirk on his face is really unnerving.

"Relax lesbro. I'm not going after your girl. I love her, but like a sister. She's all yours."

"Okay, cool. Just checking. I would hate to have to go all Lima Heights on your ass after the ass kicking we just pulled off together."

"Ha! Like you could take me."

"Oh, I'd totally kick your ass Puckerman."

"Whatever. Just know though, that if you hurt her in any way, I'm on her side and what I did to Finn will look like nothing compared to what I'll do to you."

"If that happens, you won't have to come looking for me, I'll find you."

"Hey guys, everything okay? You both look like you're in the middle of something serious. I can go and you can just meet me in the cafeteria San."

"No it's cool Rach, San and I are done. Enjoy lunch."

"Okay, bye Noah. You ready to go San?"

"Yes, I'm starving. You got your lunch right?"

"Yes I did. I also discovered a box of my favorite vegan chocolates in my locker that definitely weren't in there this morning."

"Seriously? Do you know who put them there?"

"No I do not have the slightest idea. But they did come with a note."

"Oh really. What's it say? Maybe I can help you figure out who put it there."

"Okay. It says:

_Hopefully these will cheer you up. I miss seeing that beautiful smile._

"It's so sweet. I wish I knew who left them so I can properly thank them."

"Well we can ask the glee club at lunch. Maybe one of them did it. Or maybe you have a secret admirer."

"Oh please. Don't be silly San. I don't have a secret admirer."

"How do you know?"

"Because who would want to be –"

"Okay I'm going to stop you right there. I told you. You'll have people lining up for you. You said you believed me. So believe me now when I tell you that you definitely have a secret admirer."

"Okay. I believe you. But why do I get the feeling that you know something about this and you don't want to tell me."

"No idea Tiny. No idea."

* * *

Lunch was eventful. News of the break up spread so those who don't know what happened asked a lot of questions, which Rachel answered with as little details as possible when she couldn't deflect them.

Then everyone turned their attention to Rachel's admirer. Everyone is in on my plan so they all know it's me but they keep up the ruse by trying to help her figure it out. And by trying to help her, I mean totally keep her on the wrong track about who it could be.

Brittany's idea was especially helpful:

"Rachie I know who did it. It was Lord Tubbington. You can't tell him that I told you though. He's still mad at me from when I hid all his alcohol."

That officially squashed the conversation because no one knew how to go from there. Britt-Britt is amazing.

I don't have any classes with Rachel for the rest of the day until glee so everyone else is going to help me out with little gifts.

Kurt and Blaine are supposed to make sure she had a little teddy bear with a star waiting on her desk with a note that says:

_He's cute isn't he? The star made me think of you because you're the brightest star there is. Plus I know stars are kind of your thing._

Q, Mike, and Tina each had a class with Rach so each made sure she had a pink rose waiting on her desk for her. Pink is her favorite color.

I got a conformation text from everyone when Rachel got her gifts.

Britt stopped her on her way to her locker before glee with the other 9 roses so she had an even dozen.

Not sure how she spun the story but my guess is Rachel bought it because she is now walking towards her locker with the flowers and the bear.

When she opens the locker, the next part in my plan will begin.

I wasn't going to do the whole secret admirer thing, but it was the one idea that Brittany had that I could work with and you can't say no to her pout. Trust me, you just can't.

But I knew I never wanted this whole thing to drag on forever so we made a compromise that Rachel would find out that it's me during glee. I always wanted to sing her a song so we decided that all this would end with her finding out that it's me by me singing her a song.

I know everything is really rushed but prom is less than a month away and I really want to ask her to go with me if she does have feelings for me.

Once I see her open her locker, I head for the choir room.

* * *

Rachel is the second to last person to walk through the door and I can see that she is thinking really hard about the note she would have just read. When she sits next to me I ask her about it.

"What's up Tiny? You look like you're thinking really hard."

"So after the chocolates before lunch, I got a teddy bear, one pink rose in my last three classes, and then Brittany gave me the other nine on my way to my locker. When I asked her where they came from she said she found them in her locker but the note was addressed to me so she was confused about why they were in her locker. I didn't have time to discuss it with her because I didn't want to be late for glee."

"Wait, the flowers were addressed to you? What did the note say?"

"That note said:

_Every pretty girl deserves a flower. You're absolutely gorgeous so you get twelve._

"It was so cute. And then I get to my locker and I find a letter in there addressed to me."

"Well what did the letter say? Don't leave me hanging here."

"Oh San, it was amazing. It was so heart felt and I actually cried a little. I can't wait to find out who this person is. And a note also came with the teddy bear. Look."

I already know what the notes say since I wrote them, but I play along.

I have to admit, the note with the bear was really cute, I mentally high five myself for that one. But the note in the locker, I really had a challenge with that one.

_Rachel,_

_I know you're confused and have probably been trying to figure out who I am all day. You'll understand why I did it this way when you find out who I am, which if you're as perceptive as I think you are, you'll know who I am by the end of glee club today._

_I know how much music means to you, so I figured this would be the best way to show you that I have feelings for you._

_I've sat back on the sidelines to respect your relationship, but it was also because I was afraid of the possibility of rejection. Hell, I still am. But I've realized that my fear of rejection is outweighed by my fear that you may have feelings for me but I'll never know because I'm too afraid to tell you how I feel for you._

_The truth is, I am in love you Rachel Barbra Berry._

_So I'm going to conquer my greatest fear today. I am going to tell you that I love you by singing to you. Hopefully, you'll decide that I'm worthy enough of you and you'll give me a chance to prove that I am in love you._

_See you soon._

Damn, I even surprise myself sometimes.

"That's really sweet Rach. But can I ask you a question?"

"Sure San, you can ask me anything."

"What if, after you find out who this person is, what if you don't feel the same way they do? What if you don't have feelings for them?"

I actually am really afraid of this.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to wait to find out who it is."

"Wait, you mean that there is someone in glee club that you do have feelings for?"

She was getting ready to answer my question when Finn walked in. The entire room went silent at seeing him. By now, the rumors flying around school about what happened to him have gone crazy.

"Whoa, Finn, what happened to you? Are you okay? Who did this to you?"

Cue Mr. Shue. (Haha, that rhymes!)

"I'm fine Mr. Shue. Don't worry about me."

"Finn, you can't just let this go. Did you at least call the cops to report it?"

When Rachel hears cops she grabs my thigh and squeezes. I lean over to her to whisper to her, "Don't worry Tiny. He can't go to the cops. We took care of that. I promise we won't get into trouble."

I hold her hand while I talk to her and she finally lets go of my leg. Instead of pulling her hand back, she turns it over and laces our fingers together. That's new, but I'm totally not complaining.

Apparently Mr. Shue and Finn settled everything while I was still concentrating on the feeling of Rachel's hand on my bare thigh. _ Her hands are so soft. Focus Santana. _

"Okay guys. I hope everyone did their assignments this weekend. Who wants to go first?"

I totally forgot about this assignment, and by the look of horror on Rachel's face I think she forgot too.

Luckily, before anyone questions why Rachel isn't volunteering to go first, Tina raises her hand.

As more people are performing, I can see how much Rachel is concentrating on their performances to figure out who her admirer is.

So far Tina, Mercedes, Puck, Kurt, Quinn, and Britt have gone.

"Okay guys, they were all really good performances, but we only have time for one more. Who wants to go?"

He is looking at Rachel, like he's done before everyone else has gone, and it's making her uncomfortable, just like every other time. So I step in.

Here goes nothing.

"I'll go Mr. Shue."

"Okay, great Santana. The floor is all yours."

I walk down the risers and take my spot in front of everyone. They are all giving me smiles and winks (Puck) and Brittany is giving me two thumbs up and is practically bouncing in her seat.

"So the last time I sang this song I wasn't able to get all the way through it. Hopefully this time she won't fall asleep."

I can see confused faces since only Brit and Quinn know what song I'm singing and why I'm singing it. I hope this makes her understand.

I take a deep breath and give Brad a nod.

_For you, there'll be no more crying._

_For you, the sun will be shining._

_And I feel that when I'm with you,_

_It's alright, I know it's right._

I take a glance at Rachel and I can see her trying to figure out where she recognizes the song from.

_To you, I'll give the world._

_To you, I'll never be cold._

_'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,_

_It's alright, I know it's right._

I look her in the eyes for this next part. I can tell she's figured out how she knows the song. Hopefully this next part will help her figure everything else out.

_And the songbirds are singing, like they know the score._

_And I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before._

I see her let out a little gasp. Thank God she figured it out. Now I just hope she feels something for me too.

_And I wish you all the love in the world._

_But most of all, I wish it from myself._

Here come the tears. Both hers and mine. I really wanted to hold them back because I still have a rep to protect. But looking at her while singing this song to her to make her understand is the only important thing on my mind right now.

_And the songbirds keep singing, like they know the score._

_And I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before. _

_Like never before._

I haven't looked at anyone but Rachel since I locked eyes with her during the song. I can see her trying to process everything in her head. The room is eerily quiet though, everyone waiting to see Rachel's reaction.

But of course Mr. Shue has to ruin it since he is completely oblivious to what just happened.

"That was beautiful Santana, but it doesn't exactly complete the assignment."

"No offense Mr. Shue, but you really need to be quiet and stay quiet."

Damn, always knew Quinn had my back. Mr. Shue wisely listens to her, probably just because he is so stunned to have been quieted by one of his students.

But I'm still waiting for Rachel's reaction. It's the only one that matters.

I see her try to form words, trying to figure out what to say, but I decide to put her out of her misery.

"I know you have questions, but let me talk first and maybe that will answer some of them for you, okay?"

She nods her head, tears still streaming down her face without any effort to stop them.

"It literally came out of no where for me. Or well the realization of my feelings for you came out of nowhere, since the feelings were always there, I just didn't acknowledge them.

"That day in your room, when I apologized and completely bared my soul to you, I never knew any of this would happen. All I knew in that moment was that I wanted to be your friend. I wanted you in my life.

"Then you helped me when I decided to stop being afraid. You kept your promise by sticking by me when the rest of the school learned about my sexuality. You held my hand when I came out to my parents, which I was terrified to do. And you held me all night when my Abuela practically disowned me.

"I didn't really think twice about it at the time but you were my rock. When the scary things were happening, or when the bad things happened, you were there. But more importantly I wanted you to be there. I wanted you to be that person for me.

"And with a little help (I send Brittany a wink here which she gives me a big smile for) I realized that the reason for why I felt that way was because I had feelings for you.

"But because I wanted to respect your relationship I didn't act on those feelings. At least that was the excuse I made for myself. In that letter I tell you that I was afraid of you rejecting me. Because of pride, yes, but mostly because I couldn't bear not having you in my life, in whatever capacity.

"But then Columbia happened. I had never had anyone in my life openly admit that they believed in me the way that you did when I was at your house the day I got my acceptance letter. It was weird how it happened yet it was so simple. In that moment at your house, I knew I loved you. I fell in love with you.

"With a little more pushing and prodding, I decided that I had to tell you how I felt. You deserved to know. We had this plan that would last the week, basically what happened today but stretched out. I wanted to woo you."

I get a cute little giggle from her on that one. That's good right? At least she hasn't run away screaming.

"As you know though, I'm a very impatient person. So I made an executive decision to tell you today, but Brittany gave me her pout so I had to compromise and do the admirer thing before I told you."

Everyone in the choir room laughs at that and Brittany has a really big smile on her face.

"That's really all there is to it, so you can ask me questions now if you want to, or you don't have to say anything at all, or we can leave and talk privately if you prefer. It's all up to you how we go from here."

"I do have a question actually. You wanted to woo me? Why not just ask me out on a date?"

"Because you deserve it. You deserve to be treated better than what you were used to. And I know you're kind of old fashioned so I wanted to do it this way. Most importantly, I wanted you to know I was serious and that it wasn't a game and you weren't a rebound."

The smile is still on her face so I guess I said the right thing. And the tears are back.

It takes about five minutes for anything to happen after that. The room is still silent, waiting for Rachel's next move.

She finally stands up and walks down the risers to me. I just stand there, not moving, waiting for her to say or do something.

"So I have one more question."

"Anything Rachel."

"Does this mean you're first in line?"

I can't help it, I start laughing really hard. Out of everything that I had thought she would have said right then, that definitely did not come to mind. Rachel has a smile on her face and everyone else looks really confused.

I cup her face with my hands and use my thumbs to wipe the tears off her face.

"It's a pretty big line, but yes Rach, I'm definitely first in line."

She wraps her hands around my wrists and starts brushing the back of my hands with her thumbs. We're just looking at each other for a couple of seconds before she opens her mouth and says something that completely melts my heart:

"I guess it's a good thing that you're the only person in that line that matters to me."

I start leaning in towards her face and say, "I'm going to kiss you now."

She leans in towards me and just before she completely closes that gap she says, "I was wondering what was taking so long." And then she closes that gap completely and presses her lips to mine.

It's definitely not what I thought our first kiss would be like, but it turns out to be so much better.

It's simple, it's just her lips pressed to mine, her top lip nestled between mine.

It's the best first kiss I've ever had.

It lasted probably no more than 10 seconds but it was the best 10 seconds of my life.

We both pull back and I open my eyes to the most beautiful view: Rachel Berry's eyes.

I just stare at her, letting her process what just happened. I don't want to rush her into anything. I don't want her to regret this; I _need_ her to not regret this.

She gives me a small smirk and is about to lean in for another kiss when the clearing of a throat brings us back to reality. Reality being that there are other people in the room with us. A quick sweep of my eyes and I see everyone is still here, except for Finn and Mr. Shue. Totally not surprising though.

I drop my hands that were still holding her face to my sides and face the rest of the people in the room with Rachel.

That's when the rest of the room breaks out into crazy loud applause, complete with whistling that undoubtedly came from Puck. And Brittany throws in a really loud "finally" and sweeps Rachel and I up into a big hug.

We both just laugh because that's so _Brittany._

When everyone starts to calm down I turn towards Rachel and grab her hands. I have one more question for her.

"Hey Rach, I have a question for you now."

"Of course San, and what would that be?"

"Will you do me the honor of going out on a date with me?"

"I don't think I can do that San."

My heart drops. I thought she would say yes.

"You still have to woo me first."

She drops a quick kiss to my lips before skipping out the door and throwing me a wink over her shoulder.

Everyone starts laughing hysterically and I just stand there dumb founded.

After about 5 seconds of that, a huge smile breaks out onto my face and I grab our stuff and go running after her.

I drove her to school, which means I have to drive her home. That means there is a possibility of more kissing, which I am very excited about.

I suddenly come to a stand still right outside the doors of McKinley as realization of the situation goes running through me.

I have to drive her home.

Back to her house.

Where her dads also live.

Oh shit.

I have to face her dads as their daughter's potential girlfriend.

Things are going to get very interesting.

* * *

**AN:** I hope you guys like it and aren't disappointed. Let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: **Thanks so much for the alerts, favorites, and reviews!

iluvmesomeSANTANA: This chapter should hopefully make you happy!

And just so it's not confusing: Dad = Hiram and Daddy = Leroy

I don't own Glee, unfortunately :( but all the mistakes are mine.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

I walk out of the building towards my car, hoping that Rachel is there waiting for me. I really don't feel like searching the school for her.

Sure enough, there she is, looking all sexy leaning against the passenger side door. I can see a smirk on her face when I get close enough to her.

"What took you so long San?"

"Haha…very funny. Get in before I decide to leave you and your sarcastic ass here."

She gasps and puts her hand to her chest and states rather dramatically, "Me…sarcastic…never."

My faux annoyed façade drops at that and I start laughing. She's so adorable some times.

Once we start driving towards her house I bring up her dads.

"Are your dads at work right now?"

"No they both took off today. Something about flowers and redecorating the garden. I hope they're finished by now, Dad tends to go a little over board when he is redecorating. But to answer the question you really wanted to ask, no we do not have the house to ourselves."

"That's totally not what I meant when I asked if they were home. I actually want to talk to them."

"Oh. You mean tell them about our budding relationship?" she asks me with a cute little smile.

"Yes, among other things."

"Why are you being so vague? What do you want to talk to them about?"

"Well, I want them to know the truth about how I feel for you. And I would like to make sure they are okay with me potentially dating you."

"If this is about you being a girl, I'm almost positive that it won't be a problem."

"Told you, sarcastic. But no, it's not that. It would be kind of hypocritical if that was a problem."

"Well then what is it?"

By now we're sitting in her driveway. I didn't mean to bring this up so soon after her finding out about my feelings for her. Everything just seems like it's happening so fast. I never expected her to have the reaction she did so I assumed I'd have a little more time.

"Rach, I want to tell your dads the truth about our past."

Instead of responding, she keeps opening and closing her mouth. I can tell she definitely wasn't expecting that.

"Say something Rachel, please."

"No San. Absolutely not."

"Why not? They deserve to know Rach."

"No they don't. It's my life, it happened to me. You apologized and we moved past it. I don't understand why it needs to be brought back up again."

"Because you may be okay with lying to them, but I'm not. Every time I'm here, they are so nice to me. They basically treat me like their daughter. And I absolutely love that. But in the back of mind, I have that little voice that says they wouldn't be treating me like this if they knew the truth. It sucked before, but now that I know there is a possibility of a relationship for us…I just need them to know everything before they make a decision about whether or not I'm allowed to date you."

"Okay first of all, I hated lying to them about school, but it was my decision and it was something I felt I needed to do. Second of all, do not feel guilty about how they act with you. They would love you regardless because you apologized and more than made up for everything. And third of all, dating you is my decision and mine alone."

"I understand why you did what you did, I really do Rach, but I need them to know. If we don't tell them, it'll always be there. I don't think I can live like that."

"Okay fine, we can tell them. But I would like to state for the record that I do not feel the need to do this. But since you feel so strongly about it, we can do it."

"Thank you. It means a lot that you are willing to do this with me."

"Well, I know my dads. It's probably not a good idea to let you do it alone."

"Gee thanks, way to make a girl feel confident."

"Yeah well, you know I hate to lie to anyone."

"So _misinforming _Sunshine about where auditions were when you sent her to the crack house, what would you call that?"

I couldn't help it. She set herself up for that one.

"Shut up. And I apologized so it is unnecessary to keep bringing that up."

"Whatever Rach. And I am going to ask your dads for permission to date you; pending the outcome of the conversation we're about to have with them. And pending whether or not you accept of course."

"Why though?"

"Because, I told you I wanted to woo you. And I know you secretly like the old fashioned way of doing things. And I also know that Finn never asked them and they highly disliked that, so I figure it would help make them like me."

"How do you know they didn't like that Finn never asked them?"

"Oh...umm…well…you see…H and I…we used to talk…about you, and Finn, and you're relationship. Mostly just making fun of Finn and agreeing about how much we disliked him and that we thought you deserved better."

"That…is…actually very believable considering we're talking about you and Dad."

"Yeah well, what can I say, H and I both know that you're a princess and should be treated like one."

I give her a big cheesy smile when I say that.

"Smooth Lopez, real smooth."

We both just let out a few giggles at that. What can I say, I got game, and I'm not afraid to pull out all the stops to convince her to date me.

After about a minute of laughing with her, the laughter dies out and I turn to look out the front windshield towards her house.

This is it.

The next conversation basically decides the fate of having any kind of relationship with Rachel.

I internally roll my eyes, and we all call Rachel the dramatic one.

I decide to just pull my shit together and grow a pair.

_You said you would do whatever it took to get your girl; it's time to prove it._

We get out of the car and walk into her house. Rachel calls for her dads to find out where they are. We find them in the kitchen, arguing over something that looks like…well I'm actually not sure what they are arguing about.

"Hello Dad, Daddy. How was your day off today?"

"Oh it was fine baby girl."

"Oh yes, it was great, except for the fact that your dad here can't decide on whether he wants red roses or white roses."

"Well Leroy, I'm with H. That's a really tough decision," I tell him while sending a little wink towards Hiram.

"I always knew I liked this one, Leroy."

"Oh please dear, you just like the fact that she agrees with everything you say," he tells Hiram while sending me his own little wink.

This is what I was talking about when I talked to Rachel in the car. These little moments where I feel like I'm part of the family. The more time I spent with Rachel, the more this feeling grew. I can't help but feel like they would be treating me differently if they knew the truth.

I tune back into the conversation when I hear Rachel say, "Well I personally think you should go with pink roses."

I smile wide at that.

"Why pink, baby girl?"

"Because they are my favorite color, and Santana gave me a dozen of them today. Speaking of which, I should go grab them to put them in some water. I'll be right back."

I watch Rach head out of the kitchen and I turn back to two questioning looks on the Berry men's faces.

Here goes nothing.

"So, I'm gonna cut straight to the point, because we all know that you two know that I have feelings for Rachel. Very real and very deep feelings for Rachel. So after I knew she was going to break up with the man-child, I decided I wanted to make my move.

"Brittany convinced me to do the whole secret admirer thing so I had the members of glee club help and throughout the day she got chocolates, a teddy bear, and a dozen roses, all with notes attached to them. Then I put a letter in her locker that told her she would find out who I was in glee club and I sang her song for her to figure it out."

"Oh Santana, that's so cute and so romantic."

"Thank you."

"What happened after you sang," Leroy asks, leaning forwards on the kitchen island with wide eyes. Oh man, Rachel is like a carbon copy of him. If he wasn't black, I would swear he was her bio dad.

"I…uh…explained some things and then she kissed me." I smile thinking back to that amazing kiss. The smile falls a little though as I keep going. "But then I asked her out on a date and she said I had to woo her first."

"Yup, that sounds like Rachel."

Totally sounds like Rachel. I don't mind though, I totally want to woo her more anyway.

"I'm actually kind of happy she didn't answer though because I wanted to talk to you both about something first."

"Sure San, what's up?"

"Daddy, where is the vase that Dad used for those sunflowers that used to be by the front door? It would be perfect for these flowers."

Saved by the diva – again.

"Oh Rach, those flowers are beautiful. Santana did a great job."

"Yes she did Dad. Did she tell you what else she did for me today?"

"Yes baby girl, she filled us in. Makes me wonder about how much your dad actually loves me though. When was that last time you did something that romantic for me Hiram?"

"Oh hush you, this is about the girls."

Leroy's eye roll is hilarious.

"So what happens now girls?"

"Well, Santana has said she wanted to woo me, so I'm going to wait to see what she has planned before I accept her offer of a date," she answers Hiram with a small smirk on her face.

Everyone laughs at her answer.

"Actually, before any of that happens, we…well more so myself than Rachel, needs to talk you guys about something first."

"Sure girls, what's up?"

"Do you actually mind if we go into the living room? I think you should be sitting down for this."

I can tell that that statement worries them a little but they don't say anything and just tell us to lead the way.

The Berry men each sit in their own recliner and Rach and I sit across from them on the couch.

"There is no easy way to have this conversation so I'm just going to jump right in."

Rachel puts her hand on my forearm to stop me and looks at me and shakes her head. "Let me start San, please. It'll make this easier to explain."

I nod my head and she starts talking.

"Dad, Daddy, I used to lie to you both. Before Santana and I became friends, I lied to you about my life and my friends."

"What do you mean 'before Santana and you became friends'? Weren't you always friends?"

"That's what I was lying about. I…umm…never used to have any friends. Kurt was the closest thing to a friend I had and even he was more of a teammate than a friend. I made everything up. The stories about friends, and parties, and get-togethers were all made up."

"I don't understand baby girl."

"Santana and I only became friends during this past summer, after school let out. The day you guys formally met her was the day we actually became friends. It was the day she apologized to me."

"Apologized? What would she have to apologize for?"

"I was bullied, in school. They made up names and made fun of the fact that I am so dead set on Broadway. And I was slushied on almost a daily basis. It really got bad after I joined glee club."

"What? I don't understand. How long has this been going on for? When did it start? And what in the hell do you mean by 'you got slushied'?"

"It started freshmen year. There is a very strict social hierarchy at school and because I didn't participate in any sports or anything deemed 'cool' by other students, I was essentially put on the bottom of the 'food chain,' for lack of a better term. Like I said earlier, it didn't start to get really bad until I joined glee club. Sophomore year was the worst. But it got better junior year, though it was still happening. Santana put a stop to everything though at the beginning of senior year. And a slushy is when kids throw a slushy drink in your face. Like the drink you buy at the convenience store."

"Where the hell did that idea come from? And was this only happening to you?"

"I have no idea, and no, there are others who are in glee club that were bullied also. Kurt got it worse than me, but that was mainly because he came out. But no one else had it as bad as Kurt and I did."

"Where were you when all of this was happening Santana? I know you joined glee sophomore year so why didn't you put a stop to it earlier? Why wait till senior year to do something?"

"Because I was involved it in," I say in nothing more than a whisper.

"What do you mean you were involved?"

"I…ummm…was one of those people who used to bully Rachel."

"You were apart of it?" Here comes scary Leroy. He looks about two seconds away from jumping up and lunging for me.

"Daddy, please calm down and let Santana talk. And remember that she has already profusely apologized to me and I have accepted that apology. She is the reason you are hearing all of this. I told her she didn't have to tell you, but she all but demanded that you learn the truth about our history before anything happens between us."

"Okay. Fine. Talk."

"Thank you. First, I want to say that I only slushied her once. I'll never forget it. It was the third day of freshmen year and it was the initiation for the Cheerios. You had to slushy a freshman that the captains deemed 'a loser.' They handed me the slushy and pointed at Rachel. I never wanted to do it, but I was a 14-year-old girl who desperately wanted to fit in. So I succumbed to the peer pressure and I did it. It was the first and last slushy that I ever threw at Rachel.

"I felt so horrible afterwards. I wanted nothing more than to go after her and apologize and help her clean up. I didn't know it at the time but the knot I felt in my stomach afterwards was because I liked her. I saw her and Kurt together on the first day of school so I assumed they were friends. I sent him after her to help her clean up. Did he ever actually find you?" I turn and ask Rachel.

"Yeah he did. He said he saw what happened and wanted to help. I never knew that you sent him after me."

"I knew I couldn't, I was too much of a coward, but someone needed to help you."

I turn back to look at the Berry men before I continue. I let the tears that have been threatening to fall since the start of this conversation fall.

"I was no angel, but Quinn was way worse to everyone than I was. She came up with all the nicknames. Since she was Sue's choice to be captain the next year, I had to follow along if I wanted to stay on the Cheerios. That school is every man for themselves and you either follow the status quo or you're at the bottom of the food chain. I was dealing with a lot of things at the time so I needed the safety and security that the Cheerios provided.

"At first, before I joined glee club, I would treat everybody the same. I was just a bitch to everyone, no matter who you were. It wasn't until after I joined glee club that I started to single out Rachel. You have to know that I hate myself everyday for the way I acted and I wish more than anything that I could take everything back. She never deserved anything I said or did. And I have to live with that guilt everyday."

At this point, my tears are falling heavier so I take a minute to try to wipe my face and calm down a little bit. Before I get a chance to say anything else, Hiram asks me a question.

"If you hated what you were doing so much then why do it? And why just go after Rachel?"

"I had, what I believed at the time, valid reasons for doing what I did. They weren't then and aren't now excuses in any way. I explained everything to Rachel in detail at the beginning of the summer and I'm sorry but I think that should just stay between us. But the jist of it was I was protecting myself. I was so far in the closet and deathly afraid of what would happen if people found out that I put on a mask and acted like a bitch so no one would try to get close to me. And I attacked other people so everyone would focus on them instead of on me. It was how I hid who I really was. But like I said, it's no excuse."

Nobody says or does anything for about 5 minutes (felt like 5 years). Then Hiram clears his throat and gets up and starts walking towards me. I'm nervous about what he's going to do.

"Stand up Santana."

I don't make him ask again. I quickly stand up and we're standing practically toe-to-toe. I expect him to grab my arm and drag me out of the house, but instead he just wraps me up in a hug.

I'm stunned and confused so I don't hug back at first. I think he can feel how tense I am because he starts talking.

"I'm in no way excusing your behavior. What you did and how you acted was deplorable. But I know what it's like to be afraid of who you are and to feel like you have to do whatever you can to keep others from finding out. So if Rachel can forgive you, so can I."

I pretty much break down at that. He hasn't let go of me since he first hugged me so he just holds on tighter and lets me cry it out on his shoulder. I just keep repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over again.

When I finally calm down, I pull back out of Hiram's hug and wipe my face clear of the tears. I probably look like a hot mess right now.

Leroy, who I'm assuming has been sitting in the same spot this whole time, gets up and walks towards us. He's the dad I was most afraid about. He is fiercely protective of Rachel, so I have a pretty good idea about what's gonna happen next.

"I'm so sorry Leroy."

He puts his hand on my shoulder and says, "I know you are sweetheart. Trust me when I say I know what you went through." Well that certainly wasn't what I was expecting. "Like Hiram, I'm not excusing anything, but I do understand. And my baby girl is a pretty good judge of character –"

"Except for that Vocal Adrenaline member, or Noah. I love the kid like a son but the week of dating him was definitely not her best decision. And Finn of course."

"Seriously Dad, I'm sitting right here."

"Let it go Rach, we both know your dad is right."

She just crosses her arms and huffs at what I said. The Berrys and I laugh at how adorable she is.

"Anyway, like I was saying, she is _almost_ always a good judge of character, so if she can forgive you then so can I."

And then he hugs me. But he keeps talking.

"Just make it up to me by taking care of her now. She deserves better than what she had," he whispers to me so Rachel can't hear him.

"I Promise."

Both Leroy and Hiram kissed my forehead before walking back into the kitchen to make dinner.

I plopped myself back down onto the couch beside Rachel.

"Thank you."

I do a double take after hearing her thank me.

"Why are you thanking me Rach?"

"Because you made me tell them. I feel like a weight, that I never knew I had, has been lifted off my shoulders. I knew I hated lying to them but I never knew what it was really doing to me. So thank you."

"Well thank you for letting me tell them. I know how much you hate talking about the past. I know that wasn't easy for you."

"It was nothing compared to what it was for you. I know that was extremely hard for you talk about with them. For someone who once told me they didn't think they were strong enough or brave enough you sure don't act like it. That was incredibly brave of you Santana. I'm really proud of you for doing that. And I'm flattered that you were brave enough to do that, even though you were very afraid of their reactions, so that you could have their approval to date me."

"I'd do anything for you," I tell her while staring right into her eyes.

She smiles at me and starts leaning in towards me but she jumps back when Leroy comes back into the room to ask what we want to order for dinner.

"I thought H said he was going to cook."

"Oh please, you know just as well as I do that the only cooking that man does is taking the food out of the containers and putting it on plates."

Rachel and I laugh at his answer.

* * *

From that point forward, it's like nothing happened. Nobody brings up the previous conversation and both Leroy and Hiram don't treat me any differently than they did before we told them the truth.

We order dinner, Breadstix with extra breadsticks of course (ever since Leroy discovered how scared the staff is of me, he drops my name when ever he can to make sure he gets extra breadsticks, even if I'm not there with them), and end up watching some trashy reality show rerun until it arrives.

Dinner is as it usually is. Everyone is talking and joking about things that happened that day. This particular dinner conversation is mostly about the adventures of Leroy and Hiram and the redecorating of the garden in the backyard. I didn't realize so much went into maintaining a garden. (That was totally sarcasm in case you didn't know that.)

Since it's a school night and I have homework to do (that will definitely not get done if I stay and try to do it at Rachel's) I bid the Berry men goodbye, with promises of more coffee tomorrow when I pick up Rach for school.

My plan is to pretty much be a suck-up to them so they continue to like me, in light of recent conversation.

Rachel tells her dads she is going to walk me out so we both head for the front door.

Once we are on the front porch, I get up the courage to ask her something I've been dying to ask her since the choir room.

"Hey Rach, you, uh, you want this right?"

"Do I want what San?"

"Do you actually want to be with me? I know you kissed me earlier and stuff but I just need to hear you tell me yes. I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you into this. I love you, and I don't except you to feel like I do. But I need you to tell me that you are okay with me trying to get you to date me. I just…I don't want to do to you what Finn did, I guess is what I'm trying to say."

She takes a minute to think about her response. It feels like the longest minute of my life. It would completely suck, and most likely completely break my heart if she says no. But I don't want to force her into something she doesn't want.

She takes a few steps closer to me and grabs my hands and puts them on her hips, so I grab a hold of her waist while she puts her arms around my neck.

"The fact that you're worried about me feeling like I did that night is one of the many reasons that I do want this. I know that I'm not where you are in regards to my feelings right now, but I do have feelings for you. I think I've had them for a while now," she tells me in a voice just above a whisper.

"You're my best friend Santana. I'm pretty sure you know me better than anyone and you're always the person _I _turn to, you are _my _rock when I need you. So my answer to you're question is, yes, I am very much open to the idea of a relationship with you."

I'm pretty sure the smile on my face right now is bigger than it's ever been. But it is definitely not as big as the one Rachel is wearing right now.

I lean forward to close the little distance that there is between us and I lightly graze my lips against hers. I'm waiting for her to deepen the kiss. I want her to set the pace of it. I want her to set the pace of the relationship. I will not be another Finn Hudson to her.

When I feel her put more pressure to my lips to deepen the kiss, I have to fight myself from smiling so big that it'll cause her to stop kissing me.

I _never_ want her to stop kissing me.

But I guess the Berry men have a different idea because the lights on the front porch just flickered on and off.

When we both start giggling about what her dads did, we both pull back from the kiss.

"So, do I get the honor of picking you up for school tomorrow?"

"Only if you bring me that delicious coffee again."

"Of course Rach," I tell her while giggling at her giddiness at the prospect of caffeine. She is so adorable. And yes I am very aware that I say that a lot.

Wait, I can totally say that out loud now.

"You're adorable, you know that?"

So much better out loud than in my head.

"Why thank you Santana. You're pretty cute yourself."

God, I really want to kiss her right now.

Wait, I can totally do that now too.

Her lips are quickly becoming my new addiction.

She pulls back from this one with another adorable giggle and says, "We should probably stop because I can guarantee that my dads or watching us from the window in the hallway."

I turn my head to look and sure enough, I see the curtain swaying back and forth in the window.

I give Rachel one more quick kiss goodbye before heading to my car.

"Hey Lopez."

I turn around when I hear her call for me. She used my last name, which she only uses when she's joking around with me so I can't wait to hear this.

When I turn around and look at her she continues,

"You know I still expect you to work for it, right?"

I match the smirk on her face when I answer her,

"Wouldn't have it any other way Berry."

I send her a wink and turn around and continue to walk to my car.

Best. Day. Ever.

* * *

AN: I hope you guys liked it and let me know what you think!

And someone asked about Finn in the reviews so I just want to answer the review here so everyone can see it: I love the stories out there where Finn asks like an idiot and tries to get Rachel back somehow and tries at every chance he gets to ruin Santana and Rachel's relationship. But I want to just focus on them building a relationship in this story without having to worry about that potential drama. Finn getting his ass kicked and then being basically threatened to stay away from Rachel is going to be enough to have him leave them alone right now. I may bring it back up in the future though. Hopefully that answered the question.


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